Rapper Kendrick Lamar had the Super Bowl crowd rapping along as he performed his highly-anticipated diss track aimed at Drake, despite the ongoing lawsuit. Ahead of the song, Kendrick teased playing the rap track but cited Drake's ongoing lawsuit over the song. During the performance between tracks, Kendrick headed over to a group of dancers as he said: "I wanna perform their favourite song but you know they love to sue," before a clip of the song played over the speakers as Kendrick added: "Yeah that song, oh maybe I'll think about it.".
However, ignoring any potential backlash from Drake, Kendrick later went on to perform Not Like Us – leaving the crowd rapping along to the track. In another dig at Drake, Kendrick's performance featured a cameo from the Canadian rapper's ex-girlfriend Serena Williams. However, he left out one particular lyric heard in the recorded version of the track. Kendrick opted to leave out the lyric where he calls the One Dance star a "certified peadophile" while performing in New Orleans. However, he added a new line to the song as he rapped: "Why you trollin' like a b**ch? / Ain't you tired? / Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-minorrrrrr".
As fans lapped up the performance at the stadium in New Orleans – which saw cameo appearances from Serena Williams and Samuel L Jackson, viewers at home reacted to the moment everyone was talking about in the lead up to his gig. One remarked: "Kendrick lamar killed Drake #SuperBowl". Another added: "Kendrick Lamar really got all of America to call Drake a pedo at the Super Bowl, The Chiefs are getting beat 24-0, Uncle Sam at the game. What a time to be alive".
As Kendrick's performance wrapped up, the words Game Over were illuminated in the stadium stands, which some fans believe is a signal to the end of his beef with Drake. One said: "A picture is worth a thousand words. A fitting image for Kendrick Lamar to end his Superbowl Half-Time performance - his beef with Drake is well and truly over. A funeral, witness by thousands watch in the stadium, and millions watching at home.".
"GAME OVER!!! @Drake One of the best performances I’ve seen by @kendricklamar Those who have never listened to Kendrick Lamar a day in their life, or don’t understand will say it wasn’t good. For that I can’t help you. It’s 2025 catch up," another added while a third lamented how Kendrick "ended Drake in front of 130 million people". However, some fans were underwhelmed by the performance as one said: "Whoever made the decision at the NFL to pick Kendrick Lamar as the Super Bowl 59 halftime show. FIRE THEM IMMEDIATELY!" Another added: "Kendrick Lamar said, "turn this TV off" before ending his Super Bowl halftime performance—he should've given us that advice at the start".
Not Like Us, released was released in May last year at the height of Lamar and Drake's feud and sees Kendrick accuse his Canadian rival of sexual misconduct, describing the Hotline Bling hitmaker of being a "certified paedophile". The song became the most decorated song in Grammy Awards earlier this month thanks to the diss track winning Kendrick five gongs. Ahead of Kendrick's performance at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana this evening, there had been speculation the Pulitzer Prize winning rapper wouldn't perform the hit track at the 2025 Super Bowl due to legal concerns and broadcasting regulations.
In January this year, Drake decided to head to a lawyer's office rather than the studio and began legal action regarding Kendrick's diss tracks. The dad-of-one, 38, launched a federal defamation lawsuit against his music label over Kendrick's Grammy Award winning hit. The Canadian rapper is taking Universal Music Group to court, alleging they are part of spreading a "false and malicious narrative" that he is a paedophile. According to the court documents, Drake asserts that the label was aware that Kendrick's track would feature lyrics and visuals in a music video that made this accusation against him.
He accuses UMG of permitting "'inflammatory and shocking allegations" because the song was a lucrative opportunity for them. Drake also contends that the label promoted "Not Like Us" knowing it would diminish the value of his own music and strengthen their position in future contract talks. The lawsuit claims UMG paid a third party to artificially inflate Lamar's song's streams by at least 30 million using bots. Furthermore, the company is accused of engaging in a "pay for play" scheme with at least one radio promoter and dubbing the track a "chart topper" based on fraudulent figures.
However, the lawsuit clarifies that it is not targeting Lamar himself. "This lawsuit is not about the artist who created Not Like Us," the suit declares. "It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize" a song containing untrue allegations. Drake has expressed concerns over his safety, citing the numerous shootings near or at his Toronto mansion since the release of a controversial song. The track, Not Like Us, dominated the charts for 21 weeks on the Billboard Hot Rap songs and 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, hitting the number one spot twice and racking up over 914 million plays on Spotify.
