Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
Kendrick Lamar was the headline performer at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night. Most of the attention before his performance focused on whether or not the rapper would perform his hit single “Not Like Us.” The song skyrocketed to international stardom upon its release in 2024 during the back-and-forth between Lamar and Canadian singer and rapper Drake.
The song became an instant hit and helped Kendrick Lamar win two Grammys this year for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In his drama with Drake, “Not Like Us” was seen as the nail in the coffin for Drake and many of his fans.
After teasing the performance of the song throughout his set, Lamar finally performed it at the end. Lamar began the song by smiling directly into the camera, mocking Drake with his opening line. His persistent smile throughout the performance is indicative of Lamar’s continued disdain for Drake. While Lamar did not include some of the more vulgar aspects of the song in his performance, the crowd did not pull their punches as the reverberating “A minor” echoed throughout the stadium. Lamar’s performance also made a profound political statement about the ongoing racial injustice and issues in the nation. Some felt that this had more weight because of the controversial policies from Trump’s administration and because Trump was present at the Super Bowl this year.
