Kendrick Lamar delivers Not Like Us on the Super Bowl stage
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Kendrick Lamar performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Feb 9.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
NEW ORLEANS – American rapper Kendrick Lamar entertained a packed stadium crowd and audiences around the world watching the Super Bowl on Feb 9, teasing and then delivering his ubiquitous, Grammy-winning diss track Not Like Us (2024).
At the Superdome in New Orleans, Lamar was introduced by American actor Samuel L. Jackson, dressed in a top hat as Uncle Sam. Dancers in white, red and blue piled out of a Buick Grand National GNX, the car that inspired the name of Lamar’s recent album GNX (2024).
The 37-year-old Lamar spun through Squabble Up (2024), DNA (2017) and other hits before telling a group of female dancers: “I want to perform their favourite song, but you know they want to sue.”
A few beats of Not Like Us played, but Lamar switched to a duet of Luther (2024) with R&B singer Sza.
Not Like Us is part of a longstanding feud between Lamar and Canadian musician Drake, and there had been speculation that Lamar might skip the song at the Super Bowl.
Drake filed a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group, saying the song’s false accusation that he is a paedophile has put him and his family in danger.
But Lamar went for it. At one point, he omitted the word “paedophiles” – opting instead for a scream – but included a line about Drake seeking “A minor” in which the crowd sang along.
Not Like Us won five Grammy Awards at the awards ceremony on Feb 2, bringing Lamar’s lifetime total to 22.
His appearance on the biggest stage in music followed big names from Beyonce and Prince to Madonna and The Rolling Stones.
The Super Bowl was a showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, with the Eagles soaring to a crushing 40-22 victory over the Chiefs on Feb 9 and shattering their opponents’ bid for a historic three-peat of National Football League titles. Attendees at the match included US President Donald Trump and Chiefs ace Travis Kelce’s superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift.
American singer-songwriter Swift was spotted in a private box, sporting a double-breasted white blazer over a pair of denim shorts and a white tank top, with thigh-high white stiletto boots.
Other A-list celebrities inside the Superdome included Argentine World Cup winner Lionel Messi, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and comedian Adam Sandler.
The Super Bowl typically draws more than 100 million live American viewers, the largest TV audience of the year. REUTERS
