The latest Grammy Winner of 2025 needs no introduction! Kendrick Lamar, the popular music sensation, has always made sure his music sends a message. Whether it’s a diss track (a song, typically in hip-hop or rap, created to criticize, insult, or mock an individual, group, or entity), a good theme-based song, or simply Lamar using his spotlight to address a political issue, Lamar does it out, and he remains proud about it.
As per sources, the singer pulled yet another eye-catching stunt during his spectacular halftime solo hip-hop act at the Super Bowl 2025, which took place over the weekend on February 9, 2025, in New Orleans. While people were unsure if the rapper could entertain such a large crowd, Lamar proved everyone with an epic show in his style.
His act began with Uncle Sam himself (played by Samuel L. Jackson) narrating it. It was set against the backdrop of a rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. From the moment Jackson introduced him, it was clear this performance would be anything but ordinary. And it was delivered on multiple levels with insane reactions to it later.
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Over 13 and a half minutes, Lamar defied tradition by steering away from a most significant hits medley. Instead, he crafted a narrative-driven set, weaving in tracks from his surprise album GNX alongside a few classics—Humble and DNA from Damn, All the Stars featuring SZA from the Black Panther soundtrack, and a searing diss track, Euphoria, aimed at Drake, who has been his notable public feud partner for the longest time.
As per Yahoo News, his performance hints at America’s current political and social scenario in the post-Donald Trump era and resents political issues such as the nation rolling back DEI policies, intensifying immigration crackdowns, and threatening marginalized communities. That cracked reality shaped his Americana-themed set, packed with deliberate symbolism: dancers and costumes in red, white, and blue, Jackson’s wardrobe mirroring a 1917 World War I propaganda poster, and Lamar himself rapping underneath a black-bodied American flag.
He also took a direct jab at rapper Drake when a brief snippet of Not Like Us played, with him joking, “I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” A bold dig at Drake’s recent lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the song’s “defamatory off before the broadcast abruptly cut to a sign reading Game Over.
Previously, Kendrick Lamar spoke out on several political issues, such as Section.80 to To Pimp a Butterfly, where he enacted about race, identity, and oppression, to his 2016 Grammys concert depicting a prison chain gang as a critique of the American justice system. It’s no surprise he chose messaging over mindless celebration on Sunday. After all, this is the same Pulitzer Prize-winning artist who declared, “I wanna represent for us” on The Heart Part 5.
The effectiveness of his strong act remains open to interpretation. However, these powerful artists are the face of representation of the colored community and hold weight. The performance was loud, unapologetic, and purposefully chaotic, just like America’s current situation. After this, if someone asks us in the future, “Who took hip-hop to the world’s biggest stage?” It’s Kendrick Lamar!
