KENDRICK Lamar has slammed his rival Drake on the world’s biggest stage as he performed the scathing diss track Not Like Us at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
The Los Angeles-based rapper took to the field at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for Super Bowl Sunday despite his nemesis taking legal action to put a stop to the performance.
In front of 80,000 NFL fans in attendance and millions watching from home around the world, Kendrick, 37, belted out the infamous lyrics that are allegedly about Drake, 38.
“Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young. You better not ever go to cell block one.
“To any b***h that talk to him and they in love. Just make sure you hide your lil’ sister from him,” the Compton-born lyricist says in the first verse of the diss track.
He also nods to Drake’s 2021 album Certified Lover Boy in the line: “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles,” however, it appears he removed that lyric from the highly-awaited performance.
Kendrick did rap during half time: “Wop, wop, wop, wop, wop, I’ma do my stuff. Why you trollin’ like a b***h?
“Ain’t you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor,” he adds – with the last word extra emphasized in the song.
Thousands of fans in the stadium can be heard singing along to the “A Minor” line – which some insist is an extra “gut punch” to Drake.
Kendrick wore a blue varsity jacket, jeans, and a large chain necklace that has a hidden meaning while he got fans on their feet and cheering for the halftime show on Sunday.
He performed a medley of hits, including bops from his past albums GNX, DAMN, and the collab with SZA that was for the Black Panther soundtrack, to a red, white, and blue USA-themed set.
He brought out some of his A-list friends to assist with the performance, including Samuel L Jackson as Uncle Sam, as well as SZA who stunned in red leather pants and a matching custom scarlet jacket.
However, the most shocking cameo was tennis superstar Serena Williams – who briefly dated Drake in 2011 and reportedly remained on bad terms in the years since.
She came out in a blue mini skirt, matching blazer and white crop top as she danced on the field during the diss track.
Fans expressed their shocked reaction to the performance online, saying: “Drake needs to leave the country after watching Kendrick perform Not Like Us in front of the whole world.”
“THIS MAN KENDRICK LAMAR JUST SMILED IN THE CAMERA AFTER COOKING DRAKE LMFAOOOOOO,” another admirer said.
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“OMG…..OMG…… @kendricklamar did it. Not only did he rock the beat of “Not Like Is”……he sang the lyrics.
“He did it. Mentioned “Drake” by name too. Awwwww Damn! Helluva halftime show. The brother showed out.#Salute,” ESPN host Stephen A. Smith wrote.
RAP BATTLE
Not Like Us, which just won Song of the Year at the Grammys last week, was written solely by Kendrick – who was born Kendrick Lamar Duckworth but uses his middle name as his stage moniker.
It was the fifth song allegedly to be a diss track Kendrick released about Drake in the middle of their highly publicized feud that accuses the Canadian rapper of sexual misconduct, including pedophilia.
Drake, who has denied all claims of misconduct, has been doing everything he can to prevent Kendrick from singing the slew of diss tracks at the Super Bowl.
He is currently suing his own label Universal Music for defamation after labelmate Kendrick insinuated he is a pedophile in the song.
Drake alleged in the complaint that the record label put his life and reputation at risk by releasing and promoting the song.
The One Dance rapper, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, stated in the docs that the label played a role in ensuring Lamar headlined the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show.
DRAMA WITH DRAKE
He claimed the reason behind the big game slot is for Kendrick to perform the diss track on the massive stage, which he called “one of the most significant (and viewed) cultural events of the year.”
The lawsuit stated that UMG’s campaign was allegedly “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.”
Universal Music Group [UMG} has already responded to Drake’s lawsuit saying he has successfully used the record label to “distribute his music and poetry” to engage in “rap battles” himself.
DRAKE & KENDRICK FEUD TIMELINE
On October 6, 2023, Drake and J. Cole released First Person Shooter, in which J. Cole claimed that himself, Drake, and Kendrick are the “big three” of hip-hop.
On March 22, 2024, Kendrick responded to the claim of a “big three” in his verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s song Like That, where he instead stated, “It’s just big me,” and accused both rappers of sneak dissing.
On April 5, 2024, J. Cole dropped his Kendrick diss track, 7 Minute Drill, in which he fired “warning shots” at the rapper as he accused the good kid, m.A.A.d city artist of seeking “attention” and slammed his latest music releases as “tragic.”
But on April 7, 2024, two days after releasing the Kendrick diss, J. Cole retracted his statement and backed out of the feud, as he stated he felt pressured to respond because “the world wanna see blood.”
On April 13, 2024, Drake responded to Kendrick with Push Ups, which had lyrics ridiculing Kendrick’s height and his mainstream collaborations with Taylor Swift and Maroon 5.
The track also dissed rappers Future and Rick Ross and producer Metro Boomin.
On April 19, 2024, Drake dropped another diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle, that used AI-generated voices of Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur to pressure Kendrick to respond.
On April 30, 2024, Kendrick dropped Euphoria, a six-minute diss track, in which he criticized Drake’s biracial identity, questioned the rapper’s ability as a father, and claimed that Drake is a “scam artist.”
On May 1, 2024, Drake responded to Kendrick’s diss by posting a clip from the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You on his Instagram Story in which Julia Stiles’ character Kat lists the reasons she hates Heath Ledger’s character Patrick – mirroring a Euphoria bar where Lamar provides reasons he hates Drake.
On May 3, 2024, Kendrick dropped a second Drake diss track, 6:16 in LA in which Kendrick alleges Drake’s own team is working against him as he rapped, “Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it,” and stated Drake “can’t Toosie Slide up out of this one.”
After Drake responded with his diss track Family Matters, where he called accused Kendrick of infidelity, the Humble hitmaker would release Meet the Grahams, his fourth diss track against the Canadian rapper.
“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist, let alone Drake, is illogical,” UMG said in a statement to The U.S. Sun.
Kendrick was announced as the halftime show performer on September 8 of last year.
“Meet me in New Orleans,” he teased fans in the YouTube announcement.
“I’ll be performing at Super Bowl LIX, will you be pulling up? I think so. You know there’s only one opportunity to win a championship, no round twos.
“I wouldn’t want you to miss it, meet me in New Orleans. Put on your best dress too, even if you’re watching from home.”
Kendrick will follow in the footsteps of singer Usher, who performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in Las Vegas in 2024.
