Rapper Kendrick Lamar took over the Super Bowl LIX stage in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, February 9, with a dynamite set full of hits and special guests. Take a look at how it all went down..,
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Already a star-studded event with on-screen appearances in one form or another by John Hamm, Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Adam Sandler, Paul McCartney, Kevin Costner, and tons more — it was rapper Kendrick Lamar who brought the fire with his halftime set featuring SZA, Mustard, and ALL of the dancers.
Brought to the stage by announcer Samuel L. Jackson dressed as Uncle Sam, Lamar made his way into his set with a new verse to the beat of “wacced out murals" while standing atop a black Buick Grand National before rapping his hit "Squabble Up" flanked by a squad of dancers also dressed in red, white, and blue.
Uncle Samuel L. kept up his emcee duties throughout Kendrick's set which also featured "Like That," "Man at the Garden," "Humble" and "DNA" from 2017's DAMN., and of course his massive Drake diss track, "Not Like Us"
"You know this field a lot bigger than people think so that's a must," Lamar teased in late January, so fans were already prepared for his first guest on the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show field, SZA, who joined him for "luther" before he went straight into "ALL THE STARS" from the Black Panther soundtrack.
His second guest for the night was Mustard who joined him for “tv off,” a perfect way to end the set with line: “Walk in New Orleans with the etiquette of L.A.”
And ummm, was that Serena Williams?
Lamar was announced as this year's headliner in September 2024, just before the release of his sixth studio album, GNX which features SZA on two tracks. SZA also features Lamar on her latest album, Lana. Kendrick previously headlined 2021's Emmy Award-winning Super Bowl LVI halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige, as well as guests 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak.
Watch the full performance here.