At a glance
On Sept. 8, Kendrick Lamar shocked the world or at least the hip-hop world. He announced that he would be headlining the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in 2025. This will be the 11th Super Bowl hosted by New Orleans and the rapper’s second time appearing during a halftime show (since guest starring with Dr. Dre in 2022).
Lamar took to YouTube and Instagram to share his announcement. However, the response has been mixed from fans, especially from those who support legendary rapper and New Orleans native Lil’ Wayne.
But just like anything that comes from Kendrick Lamar, this issue is layered in nuance, double meanings and hidden truths. So let’s unpack this mystery, riddled with not-so-hidden beef and complicated history.
Need to know basis…and you need to know
While you can fill history books with the culture that is rap history, here are the key events and facts that you need to know moving forward.
The old beef
Normally, you would think this is where one would talk about Lamar v.s. Drake. However, that isn’t the beef that’s on the menu, at least not yet. This announcement, while centered around Lamar, actually goes beyond the rap battles in the ides of March.
Before we talk about Lamar, we need to talk about Jay-Z.
Jay Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, began working with the Super Bowl in 2019 to “enhance live game experiences and social justice efforts” according to the BBC. One of the roles of this job includes overseeing the artist who will play at the halftime show.
With the next Super Bowl taking place in New Orleans, fans speculated that Lil Wayne would be the obvious choice due to it being his hometown. The rapper himself mentioned earlier this year his interest in performing at the show. During rapper YG’s 4HUNNID podcast, Lil Wayne noted that, “I’m working hard. I’m going to make sure this next album and everything I do is killer…I want to just make it hard for them not to highlight the boy.”
The reception
However, since the announcement, multiple artists have come out slamming Jay-Z for his choice. One in particular, being Nicki Minaj, who took to X to vent her thoughts, tweeting “Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego. Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!! LIL WAYNE!!!!!!!!!! THE GOAT?!!!!!!!!!!!”
The ‘sins’ of the parents (Lil Wayne and Birdman) fall hard on the shoulders of the child (Nicki Minaj and Drake), as Nicki Minaj takes up the mantle of Lil Wayne’s snubbing as her own. With the deep-rootedhistory between Lil Wayne’s team and Jay Z’s, Nicki Minaj claims that Jay-Z chose Kendrick Lamar out of revenge. (Despite Lil Wayne partnering with Jay Z’s music company “Tidal”).
And this was not just mere speculation. Other prominent rappers in the scene began to react and comment. One such person includes rapper Cam’ron who also mentioned, “the feud was no secret” in reference to Jay-Z and Lil Wayne.
The new beef
Alright, now we can talk about Lamar vs Drake.
While it seems like most of the world has moved on, it seems like Drake has not.
This past August, Drake took to his burner Instagram account, (@plottttwistttttt) to post a story alluding to a potential round two with Lamar. Although the story was immediately taken down, fans were quick to note that the image in the post was in reference to the movie, ‘A Better Tomorrow,’ followed by the iconic 2004 Pistons Rasheed Wallace interview, mentioning the supposed round two, “yall put it on the front page, back page, middle of the page… we will win Game 2”.
Additionally, since the announcement (Sept. 10) Drake posted support for his mentor (in solidarity with Lil Wayne), giving Lil Wayne his flowers in a tribute post to his story on Instagram.
The Easter eggs
But what does Lamar have to say about all of this? Well, for the most part, minding his own business and staying in his lane.
Lamar has his own beef to deal with and has no desire to jump in on anyone else’s. On that beef, he only had one thing to say in response to Drake. During his exciting announcement, supported by the backdrop of an American flag, Lamar notes on Instagram, “You know there’s only one opportunity to win a championship. No round two’s.” Fans took this to mean Lamar does not feel threatened by Drake’s alleged ‘round two’ announcement.
Reaches or reasonable? (Easter eggs continued)
Like all fans of this beef, there were plenty who were quick to make deeper connections than just the ones made vocally. While there are multiple small easter eggs hidden in the short Instagram announcement, here are the biggest:
- Lamar shutting down Drake’s attempt at announcing a round two was a big hit. But it might not have been the only one. The fact that he is playing the Super Bowl is in direct reference to Drake’s “First Person Shooter” song. This was where J-Cole and Drake rapped, “Me and Drizzy, this shit like the Super Bowl…Big as the Super Bowl”.
- Some internet sleuths have even connected Lamar’s American flag backdrop to be reminiscent of a famous speech in the movie “Patton.” In this speech, a decorated general notes how “Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser.” This also happens to contrast with Drake’s rap that he is “A war general seasoned in preparation.” He rapped this in his last diss, “The Heart Pt. 6.”
Intentional or not, it’s best to remember that Lamar won a Pulitzer prize for a reason.
But what about you?
As of right now, Lil Wayne has yet to comment on the situation.
However, Seth Dudowsky, NFL’s head of music, has commented, mentioning, “We’re excited to collaborate with Kendrick, Roc Nation and Apple Music to deliver another unforgettable Halftime Show. Time and time again, Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine and shake the very foundation of hip-hop.”
So according to this methodology, the spot should go to the person who has made the most significant contributions to the rap culture.
While it’s important to note that the beef between Lamar and Drake is entirely its own beast, the actions have been built upon layers of cultural rap history. From Jay-Z to Birdman from Meghan thee Stallion to Nicki Minaj, and finally from Drake to Lamar.
Akin to the process of building any rap or rapport, it’s made word by word, brick by brick, and moment to moment. Whether these were one-off coincidences or intentional digs, ultimately, it’s up to the reader.
Was this decision based solely on who was truly for the culture or was it a decision fueled by the culture? That is for the audience to decide.
