In the Caesar’s Superdrome spotlights, Super Bowl 59 will feature 17-time Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar take the stage to create an unforgettable halftime show. Who knows what Lamar might have in store for his solo act.
Lamar commemorated the announcement with a YouTube video which showed him standing in front of the American flag on a football field, using a passing machine to train with an off-screen player. Lamar also appeared to snub rival artist Drake.
“You know there’s only one opportunity to win a championship,” he said in the video. “No round twos.”
This performance will make Lamar the first rapper to perform at the Super Bowl as a solo act.
“If I hadn’t already seen him live, then I would probably spend the money to go,” Junior Jake Ragonese said. “I was very happy because seeing an artist you like being chosen for the halftime show is a big deal.”
Hip-Hop fans on social media expressed some dismay over the choice, with some saying Lil Wayne, a rapper from New Orleans, would’ve been a more sensible option.
“It hurt a whole lot,” Lil Wayne said in an Instagram Live video.
The announcement comes after a wild year for Lamar with a re-escalation of his beef with Drake. It started back in March with his feature on “Like That,” which spent three consecutive weeks at the No. 1 spot of the Billboard Top 100.
Social media crowned him the winner when Lamar released the viral song “Not Like Us,” with the accompanying music video featuring the community of Compton and Lamar’s family coming together to party.
Additionally, some fans consider Lamar’s earlier song “Meet the Grahams” the real finisher, as Lamar took extreme shots at Drake, his family and his life.
He held a victory concert on Juneteenth, called The Pop Out: Ken & Friends, held in Inglewood, California. But some don’t think Kendrick’s the champion.
“Even if you won the beef, it doesn’t make you the better artist,” freshman Henry Greenberg, a Drake fan, said.
Songs from Lamar and Drake at the beef’s peak went viral. Drake’s “Push Ups” and “Family Matters” were his top performers, peaking at number 17 and seven respectively on the Billboard Top 100.
Lamar’s “Euphoria” and “Meet the Grahams” peaked at number three and 12 respectively on the Top 100. Perhaps the best-performing song that came out of the feud was Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which earned a spot at No. 1 on the Top 100 and kept that spot for two weeks.
“Kendrick is just the superior rapper,” Ragonese said. “I don’t know what Drake was thinking.”
Fans hope Lamar performs both his latest hits and his classics, like “Money Trees,” “Alright” and “DNA.”
“I’d like to hear him do ‘m.A.A.d. City,’” Ragonese said.
If you’ve never watched Kendrick Lamar perform, this could be your chance to change that.
With Pulitzer-winning lyricism and creativity, there’s a good reason for why Lamar commands as much respect as he does from rap legends. The halftime show will be an experience you can’t miss.