Kendrick Lamar put Hip Hop front and center at the Super Bowl LIX. On Sunday (Feb. 9) night, while the Kansas City Chiefs suffered a brutal loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Compton rapper brought the energy of his hometown straight into New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome.

Lamar opened his roughly 13-minute set with an unreleased song, which admittedly was an unexpected move for one of the biggest televised events of the year. Before segueing into the next track, he declared, “The revolution 'bout to be televised / You picked the right time, but the wrong guy.” Fittingly, he followed it up with his fifth Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 track, “squabble up,” which, to date, has amassed over 41 million YouTube views.

But before he could finish it, Uncle Sam — played by Samuel L. Jackson — interjected, “No, no, no. Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto. Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up.” That led straight into “HUMBLE.” and “DNA.,” two of the rapper’s biggest records from DAMN., arguably his most commercially successful album.

It would have been great if Lamar kept the momentum going with chart-topping hits like “m.A.A.d city,” “Money Trees” or even “Alright”; but, in true K. Dot fashion, he was totally unpredictable and gave viewers a live rendition of “euphoria,” one of his scathing Drake disses released in April 2024. And the crowd went wild!

Lamar then ventured back into GNX territory with “man at the garden,” one of his personal favorites off the LP, and “peekaboo” — though, understandably, without AzChike. Moments later, the night’s highly anticipated special guest, SZA, hit the stage for the Luther Vandross-sampling “luther,” followed by 2018’s “All The Stars.”

“That’s what I’m talking about. That’s what America wants,” Jackson said. “You’re almost there. Don’t mess this up.” Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for: Lamar performed “Not Like Us” in front of over 100 million people around the world.

It was easily one of the most electric moments of the night, and you could hear it in the crowd’s reaction. Lamar rapped, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young” smiling straight at the camera, the stands erupted with “a minor,” and in the middle of it all, Serena Williams hit the Crip Walk — among all the other things going on in the background.