Earlier this year, the public witnessed the rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake (which was Snoop Dogg-approved). The back-and-forth between the two rappers was intense, with massive shade being thrown from both sides. Ultimately, Lamar was dubbed the winner of the war of words (or lyrics). Now, the Grammy winner has even more to celebrate, as he’s officially headlining Super Bowl LIX. The reveal arrived via a video, in which Lamar nodded at Drake, and fans now have all the takes.
News of Kendrick Lamar’s new gig dropped this Sunday by way of the NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation. The aforementioned video showed Lamar on a football field in front of a giant American flag, during which he made his announcement. He also noted that fans should tune in, because there’s only one opportunity to win a championship. As he put it, “no Round 2s,” which seemingly referenced Drake’s past assertion that their feud wasn’t over. Check out the clip:
This won’t be the first time that the Black Panther soundtrack curator has appeared at a Super Bowl. He previously took part in the 2022 halftime show, where Snoop, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and more took to the stage to give show-stopping performances. In any case, it would be a big deal for the “Poetic Justice” performer to be taking to the stage at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans this coming February. Yet it’s even bigger considering his bad blood with the “Over” rapper. Check out what one X user had to say about it:
Drake spent all those years fanboying around athletes, trying to make himself The Official Rapper Of Sports. This might be his actual worst nightmare.
Kendrick Lamar and Drake truly began feuding this past March when the former dropped a guest verse on Future’s “Like That.” Lamar apparently critiqued Drake and J. Cole’s “First Person Shooter” track, on which they declared that, along with Lamar, they were hip hop’s “Big Three.” From there, both men traded diss tracks like “Push Ups” and “Euphoria,” with each track getting more personal as time went on. Lamar seemingly ended the spat when he dropped the hit track “Not Like Us,” which featured damning allegations against Drake.
Following the Super Bowl announcement, some are declaring that the Compton native has once again found a major way to one-up the Degrassi alum. One user referenced an SB-related line from “First Person Shooter” to make their point:
Drake: Big as the Super BowlKendrick: https://t.co/YsPVdU0Tpu pic.twitter.com/x9FvYT1VqPSeptember 8, 2024
Yet another fan attributed this entire business move to the wrath Kendrick Lamar, who was preceded as the SB headliner by Usher. The X user made the following point:
Big congratulations to Drake, who trolled this man into getting so pissed off that he got a Super Bowl gig out of it.
FanDuel Sports Book is known for taking predictions as far as sporting events go and, upon learning of Kendrick Lamar’s gig, it joked about one situation that could happen amid the SB halftime performance. Take a look:
Drake after Kendrick Lamar performs Not Like Us for the 7th time pic.twitter.com/aE9t4ytBRySeptember 8, 2024
The feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake truly made a dent in pop culture (with even Tom Hanks asking for a recap from his son, Chet). In the aftermath, a wild GoFundMe was formed for Drake due to his defeat in the rap beef. It’s fair to say that this Super Bowl announcement is bringing the conflict back to the surface. Said momentum could continue up until the big game next year, too. I’m curious to see what kind of show Lamar puts on, and whether his embattled rival might react in the interim.
You can look forward to watching all the happenings of Super Bowl LIX when it airs on Fox on February 5 amid the 2024 TV schedule.
