Super Bowl 2025 was about the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Philadelphia Eagles — but it was really a victory lap for halftime performer Kendrick Lamar, fresh off major Grammy wins and ready to take his Drake diss track to one of the biggest audiences in the U.S.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Compton, California, native kicked off the 2025 Apple Music halftime show performance with actor Samuel L. Jackson in a master of ceremonies role, dressed as “Uncle Sam” in full patriotic garb introducing the crowd to the “great American game.” (With a tic-tac-toe board backdrop.) Lamar emerged crouched on a black Impala to rap about how “everyone must be judged." “The revolution about to be televised, you picked the right guy but the wrong time.”
Also during the performance, a dancer held up a composite flag for Sudan and Gaza as an act of protest. In a video posted by Diya TV, you can see the protestor run off the stage as he is chased by security. On Feb. 10, the Associated Press reported that he will not face charges, but will be banned from all future NFL events. “No one involved with the production was aware of the individual’s intent,” the NFL said.
America was an aesthetic and storytelling theme throughout the halftime show. Throughout the performance, Jackson interjected commentary that felt representative of how the United States as a white supremacist system and cultural infrastructure sees rap music, and by extension, Black people: “Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto," Jackson said, "Mr. Lamar do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up.” Which set up the perfect transition into “Humble,” in which Lamar rapped as his dancers formed an American flag shape.
Then: A little tease of “Not Like Us” — with an immediate roar — as Lamar said, “I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.”
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He instead slowed down into “Luther,” where he brought SZA (who is about to join him on tour this spring and summer) out in monochromatic bright red leather to complement his blue and white. That segued effortlessly into “All the Stars,” their iconic duet from the Black Panther soundtrack. Jackson's reflection? “…nice, calm… don't mess this up.”
Enter: “Not Like Us,” the most anticipated song of the evening. Lamar walked in a ferocious circle, tension building as we got to the pivotal lyrics. And much like the crowd at the Grammys, Super Bowl fans were wholly into it, joining en masse to scream, “A-minorrrrrrr” along with Lamar, who couldn't help but grin during the hit.
Other noteworthy happenings included a Serena Williams cameo doing a Crip Walk, Mustard popping out as a guest during “tv off," and the final lights in the dark reading “GAME OVER.” The full setlist included “Bodies,” "Squabble up", “Humble,” “DNA,” “Euphoria,” “Man At The Garden,” “Peekaboo,” “Luther,” “All The Stars,” “Not Like Us,” and “TV off.”
The performance comes after Kendrick Lamar took home not one but two of the biggest awards at Grammys 2025: Song of the Year and Record of the Year (in addition to a slew of others).
During a press conference before the Super Bowl halftime show performance, Lamar said that “storytelling” was a huge focus of his planned show. “I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling. Through all my catalog and my history of music and I’ve always had passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on. … I like to always carry on that sense of make people listen but also see and think a little.”
