Kendrick Lamar To Headline 2025 Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show

Kendrick Lamar fans already know where all roads will lead during the 2025 Super Bowl!

The rapper is set to headline the iconic Apple Music Super Bowl halftime show next year after a rather eventful first half of 2024.

Kendrick Lamar previously performed at the 2022 halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent, so he is familiar with the scene.

Kendrick Lamar Already Making Plans For The Super Bowl Creative Direction

Roc Nation, NFL, and Apple Music made the viral announcement on Sunday, stating that the game will be held on February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans and air on Fox.

Lamar, who won the Outstanding Live Variety special Emmy for his epic performance alongside fellow hip-hop giants in 2022, will employ the service of pgLang company for the creative direction of his performance.

The company is owned by Lamar and filmmaker and director Dave Free, who is mostly the brain behind the majority of Lamar's music videos. According to Hollywood Reporter, in his statement about the announcement, the 37-year-old rapper declared:

"Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I'll be there to remind the world why they got the right one."

Jay Z Returns To Produce The Show For The Sixth Year

2025 will mark Jay-Z and his Roc Nation's sixth time returning to produce the famous show after winning his second Emmy for co-directing Rihanna's 2023 halftime show performance alongside Hamish Hamilton.

Jay-Z is one of the few Black directors to have clinched an award in the outstanding directing category. Usher's Super Bowl show also bagged three Emmys and became the most-watched halftime performance of all time—another feather in Jay-Z's cap.

In his statement on Lamar's announcement, the rap icon and business mogul described Lamar as "truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer."

Jay-Z noted that his deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision, adding that Lamar "has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally."

He concluded that Lamar's work "transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come."

An Overview Of Lamar's Illustrious Career

Since his 2011 mixtape, "Section. 80," the 37-year-old Compton, California native has been critically acclaimed as one of the most talented rappers of this generation.

His major-label debut in 2012, "Good kid, m.A.A.d city" was widely accepted, highly rated and achieved impressive commercial success.

Lamar has won 17 Grammys so far in his career and is the proud winner of the Pulitzer Prize for music for his 2017 classic album "DAMN."

The Compton king became the first non-classical or jazz artist to win the prestigious award. Lamar also clinched an Oscar nomination for best original song for his 201 smash hit "All the Stars," which he collaborated on with SZA for the "Black Panther" movie.

Lamar also recorded impressive feats this year as his singles' Not Like Us" and "Like That" with rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin placed him at the top of the Billboard music charts.

The Timeline Of Lamar's Controversial Beef With Rapper Drake

Undoubtedly, one of the most memorable events in the 2024 hip-hop calendar year is Lamar's beef with Drake. The 37-year-old opened the reservoir on "Like That," firing rhythmic shots at J.Cole and Drake, who performed their Hot 100 No. 1 song, "First Person Shooter," at one of Drake's October concerts.

According to Billboard, Cole poked Lamar when he rapped a line saluting the trio of himself, Lamar, and Drake, which read: "Love when they argue the hardest MC/Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/ We the big three like we started a league/but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali."

Lamar replied in May this year with the now famous line "F–k sneak dissing. First-person shooter/I hope they came with three switches." He reiterated his stance as the best in the industry and denounced the 'Big 3" claim earlier made by Cole, saying, "Motherf–k" the big three, n–a, it's just big me."

Days after Lamar's lines dropped, Drake addressed the line in his show, stating," I got my f---ing head up high, my back straight." The Canadian native then released his Lamar diss track "Push Ups" to streaming services on April 19.

The track addressed not only his arch-enemy Lamar but also Rick Ross, The Weeknd, Metro Booming, Future, and many more. Drake did not stop at just one diss track; he released the second, "Taylor Made Freestyle," on April 24.

The two giants' back-and-forth continued in May when Kendrick replied with the fourth diss track, "Not Like Us. " The track instantly became a classic among beef spectators and the hip-hop community.

Kendrick Lamar's 'DAMN' Topped The Billboard 200 Chart

"Not Like Us" was not the first time Lamar appeared on top of the Billboard chart. His album "DAMN" pulled the iconic feat when it was first released in April 2017.

The Blast shared that it was led by hit singles such as "Loyalty" featuring Rihanna, "Love" featuring Zacari, and "Humble."

The album is 3X platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after selling 1,002,000 copies and earning 3,137,000 album-equivalent units. It also produced many more hot gems like "DNA" and "Element."

The rapper even performed some tracks from the album at the 2018 college football national championship game.

Will Kendrick Lamar's halftime show break Usher's record? All roads lead to New Orleans for the correct answer!