Kendrick Lamar’s High-Risk, High-Reward Super Bowl Halftime Show

Super Bowl LIX halftime performer Kendrick Lamar is at the top of his game.

He’s coming off a Grammy Awards sweep one week before the Super Bowl, winning all five of the categories for which he was nominated: Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Music Video.

Super Bowl halftime shows can be an opportunity for artists to reignite their careers. But Lamar’s star is about as bright as the Big Game itself—and the NFL could get a jump from the artist’s performance, not the other way around. His surge in popularity is especially welcome in a year in which Chiefs fatigue and low ticket prices are taking some excitement out of the Super Bowl.

Halftime performers don’t get paid, but they usually see a nice boost to their streams and media exposure. Last year, Usher earned an estimated equivalent of $52 million in media exposure from his performance. And yet Usher was a perennial artist reclaiming the national spotlight—Lamar is already in it, and so is his special guest, SZA.

Sunday won’t be Lamar’s first time performing at the halftime show. His first was in 2022 alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Anderson .Paak. But for all the good exposure Lamar is bringing to the NFL in his second Super Bowl halftime performance, the rapper could also be opening the league up to legal complications.

All five Grammy Awards went to Lamar’s smash hit “Not Like Us,” a diss track aimed at fellow rapper Drake. In the lyrics, Lamar accuses Drake of pedophilia, sexual misconduct, exploiting rappers for credibility, and cultural appropriation. Lamar also takes shots at members of Drake’s label and team with allegations including sex trafficking. The song’s cover art shows a photo of Drake’s Toronto home with sex offender symbols marking it.

Drake has taken a number of legal steps against Universal Music Group (UMG), which is also his label, over the song. He has accused UMG of artificially boosting the song’s streams, said the track is “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender,” and claimed the label put “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.” His January suit references a shooting and attempted trespassers at his home shortly after the song and cover art’s release.

Given the legal implications, Lamar’s performance is a precarious situation for the NFL and Fox, because the usual watchdog of the FCC isn’t the only one who could be after them for certain lyrics. When the Grammys played a snippet of “Not Like Us” as Lamar walked to the stage to accept one of his awards, the show blasted the phrases “certified pedophile” and “it’s probably a minor,” the second of which could be heard sung loudly from the audience on the broadcast.

The question of whether the song will be played has been answered: Lamar is going to perform the diss track, TMZ reported Wednesday. The next decision is for Fox and the NFL, both of which could open themselves to legal action from Drake if they allow Lamar to include any lyrics implying his nemesis is a pedophile during what is historically the biggest broadcast of the year. 

For a league as buttoned up as the NFL—which forbids its own players from displaying political imagery or personal messages on game days—publicly taking a stance on an ongoing lawsuit isn’t really its thing.

At the same time, the network and league will receive heat from fans if it censors the most popular parts of the Song of the Year. And if the network or league does try to step in, Lamar could always buck their wishes. The NFL reportedly tried to censor parts of the 2022 halftime show, specifically a line from Dr. Dre saying he is “still not loving police,” Eminem wanting to kneel in support of Colin Kaepernick, and criticizing one of Snoop Dogg’s outfits as being “gang-related.” But the league’s efforts didn’t work—Dr. Dre still said the line, Eminem kneeled, and Snoop wore his outfit.

Lamar hinted during his pre-performance press conference Thursday that “storytelling” is what viewers can expect from his halftime show, the first headlined by a solo hip-hop artist. “I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music,” Lamar said. “And I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on.” 

Whether that storytelling is about Drake or not will be revealed Sunday.