The Compton native rapper’s catalog spans boast several hits from various eras of hip-hop.
In the ultimate end to a victorious season, Kendrick Lamar was announced as the performer for the Apple Music halftime show, at Super Bowl LIX — which is set to take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9, 2025. This marks Kendrick’s first Super Bowl performance as a sole headliner and his second overall — his first, being the Super Bowl LVI in 2022, where he joined Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Snoop Dogg.
Though the rapper’s most recent album — “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” — was released two years ago, Lamar had one of the biggest summers of his career, as his Drake diss track “Not Like Us” spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The song also swept the sports world, with LeBron James saying he loves the song, and DeMar DeRozan making an appearance in the video.
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Fitting so many classics into a 12-15 minute set is no easy task, but we’ve opted to take a stab at the challenge.
“Humble” — The lead single from 2017’s “Damn” is obviously Lamar’s most stadium-ready track. And hearing 83,000 people shout “my left stroke just went viral” will set the tone for a hell of a halftime show.
“Hiiipower” — For the day-one fans, Lamar will likely include some of his underground classics. Perhaps after winding down from “Humble,” he’ll opt for the downtempo “Hiiipower,” before pumping it back up again.
“Alright” — The Pharrell Williams-produced standout track from 2015’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” is one of Lamar’s most politically-charged tracks, and the rapper is often known to make statements with his sets, like his 2016 Grammys performance. He’ll likely do something similar with his Super Bowl halftime performance, given the large platform and his reputation as a conscious rapper.
“Mona Lisa” (with surprise guest, Lil Wayne) — While in New Orleans, you’ve got to bring out the NOLA legends. And Lamar has often lauded Weezy’s craft. The Super Bowl would be the perfect opportunity for the two to perform their scorching “Mona Lisa” collab, which appears on Wayne’s 2018 album Tha Carter V.
“Bad Blood (Remix)” (with surprise guest, Taylor Swift) — Yes, we know, Lamar’s verse on Swift’s “Bad Blood (Remix)” may not be career bars by the rapper, but should the Chiefs make it to the Bowl for the third year in a row, Swift may already be in attendance. Perhaps she’ll join Lamar on stage in between cheering on Travis Kelce.
“Swimming Pools (Drank)” — Granted, performing a song about alcoholism at the Super Bowl may make for some irony, but “Swimming Pools” is arguably the song that brought Lamar into the mainstream landscape. And who can resist that catchy call-and-response?
“Not Like Us” — With the Super Bowl halftime announcement, one thing is clear — Lamar won the beef with Drake. He’d be remiss not to create one last symbolic moment in the feud by performing the diss track at the most-watched US live program of the year.
“B*tch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” —- This may be a controversial closer, given the title, but by the time Lamar’s performance ends, we’ll all be riding a high, regardless of which team we’re rooting for.
Source si.com
