After three years Kendrick Lamar was a guest on Dr. Dre's Super Bowl halftime show, and the rapper will perform at his own Super Bowl LIX halftime show.
Just hours before the first Sunday of the 2024 season kicks off, the NFL, Roc Nation and Apple Music revealed that Lamar will headline the lineup at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025 for the Apple Music Halftime Show at the Super Bowl.
“Rap is still the most influential genre out there,” Lamar said in a statement. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right guy.”
“Kendrick Lamar is a one-of-a-kind artist and performer,” Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation company co-produced the halftime show, said in a statement. “His deep love for hip-hop music and culture is reflected in his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture on a global scale. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Lamar and Dave Frye of pgLang will serve as creative directors for the Super Bowl halftime show.
“There have been few artists who have impacted music and culture as profoundly as Kendrick Lamar,” NFL Chief Music Officer Seth Dudowski said in a statement. “Kendrick has proven time and time again his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine and ultimately shake the foundation of hip-hop.”
Lamar spent most of 2024 engaged in a culture-shaking rap battle with Drake, a feud that yielded new classics like “Meet the Grahams,” “6:16 in LA,” “Euphoria” and the summer hit “Not Like Us.” The battle had largely died down by the end of the summer, with Rolling Stone Lamar's announcement of the win, along with his being named the Super Bowl MVP, cemented the decision.
Super Bowl LIX will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, marking the eighth Super Bowl in the Big Easy (the most among NFL stadiums) and the first since 2013, with Fox holding the broadcast rights.
Lamar, who released his latest album Mr. Moral and the Great Walkers Arriving in 2022, it follows artists who have performed at Super Bowl halftime recently, including Usher (at the 2024 game), Rihanna in 2023, Dr. Dre and guests Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Lamar in Los Angeles in 2022, The Weeknd in 2021, and Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in 2020.
