Kendrick Lamar Says Super Bowl LIX Viewers Can Expect Plenty Of “Storytelling” From His Halftime Show
BY Malcolm Trapp / 2.6.2025
If there’s one thing Kendrick Lamar wants fans to take away from his Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, it’s “storytelling.” On Thursday (Feb. 6), the 22-time Grammy winner sat down with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis to talk about what to expect from his long-anticipated performance, including the guests.
“I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all of my catalog and my history of music, and I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on, whether it’s a world tour or whether it’s 500 people at Key Club,” Lamar said of what viewers can anticipate midway through the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles’ face-off.
The Compton emcee also teased that he’s bringing a lot of “LA energy” to the Caesars Superdome on Sunday (Feb. 9). “That’s something that I want to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see,” he said. “I want that energy to, you know, ooze out into the televisions and to the people that's in the building.”
As for the special guests, the only confirmed act that fans know of is SZA, whom Lamar admitted he hasn’t even “had a chance” to chat with about the halftime show. “Everything has been moving fast," he detailed before noting, "She always had it, and I'm just honored to be next to her talent."
If Lamar’s set follows the blueprint of past Super Bowl performances, fans can likely expect him to run through classics like “HUMBLE.” and “Alright.” There’s also a strong chance he’ll slip in at least a small snippet of “Not Like Us” — taking into account all the Drake jabs, of course.
Later in his sit-down with Apple Music, Lamar opened up about the creative process behind GNX for the first time. “I thought about, 'D**n, what I used to like as a kid?' Hard raps, good beats that's smackin', right? It was a great transition from [Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers] because that was my most intimate [project],” the “Poetic Justice” artist said.
Notably, the 12-song LP arrived with no warning in November 2024. It housed “luther,” “wacced out murals,” and “tv off,” as well as guest appearances from Roddy Ricch, SZA, Lefty Gunplay, and AzChike, to name a few.