Click here to visit Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime full performance on YouTube. (You can still watch if it displays “Video Unavailable”.)
Kendrick Lamar took the field at the Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. Lamar took home the 5 Grammy awards at the 2025 67th Annual Grammy Awards, earning a total of 22 Grammys during his whole music career. During his 12 minute performance, he was joined onstage by SZA, a previous collaborator and labelmate, Serena Williams, a famous former American tennis player, and actor Samuel L. Jackson narrating his performance at the Caesars Superdome dressed as Uncle Sam.
Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. (lapresse.ca)
Who’s Kendrick Lamar?
Kendrick Lamar is a famous American rapper and songwriter known for his powerful lyrics and storytelling. He was born on June 17, 1987, in Compton, California. He has won multiple Grammy Awards, with a total of 22 as of currently and 57 nominations, and is considered one of the best rappers of his generation. His music often talks about important social issues and personal experiences, making him a voice for many people and especially the community of where he’s from. He gained traction early this year for his “beef” with Drake, a Canadian rapper and singer. This caused Lamar to release his record of the year “Not Like Us“, a diss track towards the Canadian rapper, which was his most eye-catching song performed at the Super Bowl. Have you seen the performance yet? If you haven’t, do you believe this performance will be one of a kind? Do you believe Kendrick Lamar headlining the show was a smart move? Find out more by following along to this article, and do not forget to formulate your own opinions while doing so!
Kendrick Lamar at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards. (people.com)
What Exactly Happened?
Kendrick Lamar kicked off the halftime show between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles with his set list that was full of some of his greatest works. Lamar’s performance marked a significant moment in hip-hop history since became the first solo hip-hop artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show ever. Here’s what happened during his 12 minute performance, in chronological order:
1). “Salutations, it’s your Uncle Sam.”
“Salutations, it’s your Uncle Sam, and this is the great American game.” was the actor’s opening line. Uncle Sam, also known as Samuel L. Jackson, who’s a renowned American actor famous for his roles in Pulp Fiction, The Avengers, and Django Unchained, appeared wearing a patriotic outfit with a white top hat and a star-spangled suit with red, white, and blue colors. This part of the show added a satirical and theatrical touch to the performance. Samuel L. Jackson previously endorsed the Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris during the U.S. presidential election and spoke at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia in support.
Samuel L. Jackson dressed as Uncle Sam. (ew.com)
2). Outfit and Stage
Lamar walked on stage showing off his iconic new outfit. He performed on stage with an outfit styled by Taylor McNeill. The outfit included a pair of bootcut Celine jeans, a custom leather Martine Rose varsity jacket with “Gloria” spelled on the front, a chain with a lowercase “a” pendant that represented the “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minorrrrr” lyrics in his record of the year song, “Not Like Us“.
Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
3). ‘Squabble Up‘
He starts off with “Squabble Up” alongside 400 members of the field cast. “Squabble Up” is a single that Lamar released on November 26th, 2024 from the album GNX. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week ending November 28, 2024.
Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. (The New York Times)
4). ‘Humble‘
Next up on his set list was his famous hit single, “Humble” from the album Damn that was released on March 30th, 2017. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 5th, 2017.
Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. (Getty Images)
5). ‘DNA‘
He then performed “DNA“, released on the 14th of April, a single from his album Damn, 2017. It came in as US Billboard Hot 100 as 4th place.
Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. (Getty Images)
6). ‘Euphoria‘
Lamar then performed “Euphoria“, a single recorded on the 30th of April, 2024. This was also a widely known diss track towards Drake, a response towards Drake’s “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle”. The song iconically temporarily crashed the Genius website when it dropped as fans rushed to decode the lyrics. It debuted at 11th place on the Billboard Hot 100, before placing 3rd the following week.
Kendrick Lamar performing at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. (people.com)
7). ‘Man at the Garden‘
“Man at the Garden” was performed next from his set list. A song from his album GNX that was released on the 22nd November, 2024.
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at the 2025 Super Bowl. (screenrant.com)
8). ‘Peekaboo‘
“Peekaboo”, a song on his GNX album that features AzChike, released on November 22nd, 2024.
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at the 2025 Super Bowl. (cbc.ca)
9). ‘Luther‘ featuring SZA
SZA surprised everyone by performing alongside Lamar. They sang “Luther” together, a single by the both of them from the album GNX that was released on November 29th, 2024. She also has dated Drake before. On December 21st, 2024, Lamar made billboard history by replacing himself on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with this song. He also became the first artist to earn 3 consecutive number ones without any interruptions.
SZA and Kendrick Lamar performing together at the 2025 Super Bowl. (Getty Images)
10). ‘All the Stars‘ featuring SZA
“All the Stars“, a single by Kendrick Lamar and SZA from the album Black Panther: The Album, released on January 4th, 2018, was performed by the both of them. It peaked 7th on the Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
SZA performing at the 2025 Super Bowl with Kendrick Lamar. (Getty Images)
11). Uncle Sam Narrations
Uncle Sam interrupts Lamar by yelling “No, no, no, no, no! Too loud! Too Reckless! Too ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?… Then tighten up!” He then storms off as the camera pans to a new section of the stage where Lamar begins rapping again.
Samuel L. Jackson dressed as Uncle Sam as the 2025 Super Bowl. (cbc.ca)
12). ‘Not Like Us‘
In January of 2025, Drake sued Universal Music Group for promoting “Not Like Us” and its “malicious” claims made against him. Lamar addressed the lawsuit by teasing, saying “I wanna perform they favorite song but you know they love to sue” right before he performed the first verse and chorus of “Not Like Us”.
On May 7th, 2024, it broke the record for most single-day Spotify streams for a Hip-Hop song in the US with 100 million, surpassing Drakes single, “God’s Plan”. It debuted as number one on the Hot 100, making it Lamar’s fourth #1 hit and first #1 debut in his home country chart. The music video for “Not Like Us” was shot in Compton, California (where Lamar’s from) on June 22nd.
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at the 2025 Super Bowl. (usatoday.com)
13). Serena Williams Appearance
Serena Williams is a famous former American tennis player, who shocked everyone by appearing on the field dancing along with Lamar’s “Not Like Us” song. She also has dated Drake in the past.
Serena Williams dancing during Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” song. (Getty Images)
14).’TV Off‘
“TV Off” was released on November 26th, 2024. It’s a single that features Lefty Gunplay with the genre of West Coast hip-hop from the album GNX. Mustard, who performed with Lamar during this song, produced it. There was also a flag waved around with two kids, hinting at his “a minor” lyric from his previous song.
Mustard and Kendrick performing together at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show.
There was also an incident that occurred a performer/dancer for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show got detained after raising a Sudanese-Palestinian Flag. The flag read “Gaza” and “Sudan” written on it.
Check out “Halftime Performer Detained for Showcasing Sudanese-Palestinian Flag” here on dmhsherald.org for more information on the matter!
The unidentified performer's flag that was raised during Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance.
Lamar’s Impact
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at the 2025 Super Bowl. (Getty Images)
By headlining the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, Lamar has proved he’s more than just a rapper, he’s an activist. His music has always encouraged people of all ages to continue to strive for social justice and equality, while showcasing the struggles of his communities and people. With this performance, he did a fantastic job at not only entertaining the crowd with his dance moves on stage and energy, he moved the hearts of people with his powerful, thought-provoking lyrics in his songs. After reading this overview on Kendrick Lamar’s performance, what did you think of it? What other songs of his do you believe he should’ve performed? What part of Lamar’s performance was your favorite, and why? Do you believe some of his lyrics have some sort of hidden message? Please share your thoughts and opinions on this matter by clicking the comment button on the right hand side! Thank you for following along! Tune in for more articles.
