Kendrick Lamar left one word out of his huge track while performing at the Super Bowl. The rapper headlined the halftime show at the mega sporting event in New Orleans on Sunday evening. He was there to provide entertainment as Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles took a break in the game. It came just days after Kendrick swept up five Grammy Awards. He called on Samuel L. Jackson and Serena Williams to be part of his special guests as he performed hits including DNA and All the Stars. Fans waited to see if he would rap his highly-anticipated diss track aimed at Drake, despite the ongoing lawsuit. During his performance, Kendrick headed over to a group of dancers as he said: "I wanna perform their favourite song but you know they love to sue.".
A clip of the song played over the speakers as Kendrick added: "Yeah that song, oh maybe I'll think about it." Ignoring any potential backlash from Drake, Kendrick did perform Not Like Us – leaving the crowd rapping along to the track and featured a cameo from the Canadian rapper's ex-girlfriend Serena. 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". 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 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. 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. He describes the Hotline Bling hitmaker of being a "certified paedophile". The track became the most decorated song in Grammy Awards earlier this month thanks to the diss track winning Kendrick five gongs. However, last month.
Last month, Drake began legal action against his music label over Kendrick's diss track. He launched a federal defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group, 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.
A spokesperson for UMG dismissed Drake's claims as "offensive and untrue", stating: "The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.".
