“I ran the game like Walter Payton in 1984,” Kendrick Lamar famous for his rap song “Blood Sport,” a song from his early career mixtape2005 Training Day. Almost 20 year old songfilled with references to past NFL greats like Deion Sanders And Peyton ManningIt now sounds like the audio version of a successful vision board, as Lamar was just named the headline artist for the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show, aka “Apple Music Super Bowl LIX 2025.”
This won’t be the first time the Pulitzer Prize winner has entered the Big Game (for his 2017 album, Damned). In 2022, Kendrick Lamar joined Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Anderson. Paak, Mary J. BligeAnd 50 cents for the honor of Super Bowl LVI to hip-hop and Los Angeles, singing the songs “Humble” and “Alright.”
But despite his stardom in 2022, Lamar’s relationship with the NFL remains strained. In 2018, he speak Vanity Fair that he had been a fan of the game but its reaction to former player Colin Kaepernickdemonstration of against systemic racism and police brutality has made him lose interest in the league. “I’m not excited,” Lamar said in 2018. “It’s infuriating; I think what Kap is doing is honest, and it’s not just his truth, it’s our truth.”
In the years since, Lamar has found himself at the center of a public dispute with male duckwith both sour deal about others’ alleged treatment of women. The diss track aimed at the Canadian singer, 2024’s “Not Like Us,” is one of the biggest hits of the year.
In a statement released Sunday as part of the Super Bowl announcement, Lamar did not address his past issues with the league—nor did he mention NFL’s tumultuous past when it comes to harassment and abuse of women. Instead, he focuses on his art, saying, “Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right guy.”
The 2025 halftime show will be produced by Jay Z and his label, Roc Nation, for the sixth year in a row. And like Lamar, Jay-Z stayed away from the game when announcing the “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe” singer’s big performance. “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” he said in a statement.
“His deep love for hip-hop and its culture has shaped his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture across the globe. Kendrick’s work extends beyond his music and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Super Bowl LIX will be held on February 9, 2025 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans and will be broadcast on Fox.
