On Sunday, February 9, 2025, Super Bowl LXVIII took place, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. However, as memorable as the game may have been, the famous halftime show this year did not live up to its name. The performance starred American rapper Kendrick Lamar as the main performer, with features from singers Solána Imani Rowe and SZA and celebrities like tennis star Serena Williams and actor Samuel L. Jackson. On paper, the show should have been a major hit; coming off of his trending rap beef with Aubrey Drake Graham, best known as Drake, fans anticipated Kendrick Lamar to have one of the best shows in recent years.
But, that praise certainly wasn’t delivered after watching the show.
Kendrick’s halftime show was teeming with underlying symbolism and messages that would bring major attention to several audiences. However, he lacked clarity in what he was trying to express and convey to the public. Kendrick is widely known by rap enthusiasts for having hidden themes and messages within his songs. However, some Lamar enthusiasts were unable to find a clear theme within his performance. For casual fans and spectators, the performance was merely stereotypical rap that lacked true emotion.
In addition to his ambiguity with his secret messages, Lamar simply didn’t deliver the potential that his fans thought he would. Having no songs off his second-largest album, “good kid m.A.A.d. City,” he missed out on showcasing several songs that may have appealed to his primary audience. Kendrick only had two songs off of his hit album “DAMN,” losing the interest of masses of people who had otherwise looked forward to the playlist. With around half of his songs coming from “GNX,” his newest album, the show seemed like more of a plug or an advertisement than a musical showcase that people had been waiting on for months.
Furthermore, Kendrick’s selections of songs were repetitive and overplayed from our perspective. Instead of choosing songs that could introduce unfamiliar spectators to Kendrick’s lyrical genius, he chose to play overrated songs rather than some of his true top hits. One prime example of this is when Kendrick performed “Not Like Us,” a song that broke multiple records and won Lamar 5 awards at the 2025 Grammys. Our main criticism is the fact that Kendrick dragged the introduction of this song excessively. Although it is possible he meant to ‘rile up’ his fans with the potential of such a famous song being played, his approach/execution of the matter received poor reception across several fan bases.
Perhaps at the top of the critique directed toward his show was Lamar’s production of his famous beef with Drake. When the Super Bowl half-time performer was announced, fans were ecstatic Lamar was selected, with one major reason being his recent feud with Drake. Fans looked forward to seeing if Kendrick would denounce Drake in front of the entire country and then watch the fallout. However, his delivery received mixed reactions. Although many people enjoyed the drama and its reference in the show, the conflict had diminished significantly by the championship game, and other fans did not feel the same enthusiasm for the rap beef that was initially present between two of America’s biggest rap artists.
As shown, Kendrick’s performance was unappealing for many spectators due to several factors: lack of quality in his song choice, invisible and vague messages, excessive dragging of his rap beef with Drake, and an unclear theme. All in all, Kendrick Lamar delivered a subpar performance.
