Kendrick Lamar isn't afraid of a little controversy — but the NFL is. So how might that play out during the halftime show on Super Bowl Sunday?
Part of the excitement of a live show like the NFL Halftime Show is that we don't know what will happen until it does, like Usher's 2024 surprise guests or Rihanna's pregnancy announcement. But Kendrick's fight comes in the middle of an ongoing rap beef between him and rival Drake.
If we are to believe rumors, it seems like Kendrick might play his biggest Drake diss "Not Like Us," his fifth installment in a series of diss tracks against the Canadian rapper. The song, which alleges Drake's pedophilia and sexual misconduct, solidified his victory against Drake and broke several Spotify records. On Sunday, the track won Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 2025 Grammy Awards.
But the song, and beef as a whole, also resulted in multiple lawsuits. Drake sued Universal Music Group and Spotify claiming they worked together to inflate the songs popularity and accused UMG of violating the RICO act. He later filed another lawsuit against UMG for defamation and funneling payments to iHeartRadio.
Whatever ends up happening, it will likely be a surprise to us, but not to anyone at the NFL, Andrew Mall, an associate professor of music at Northeastern University, told the Northeastern Global News. And the idea that the NFL would agree to something they could get sued for — like allowing Kendrick to allege Drake is a pedophile — would be pretty unlikely, he argues.
"He won’t do that in part because the scale and the choreography and the production of the Super Bowl halftime show has to be set in stone," Mall said. "So, he can’t just tease and be like, 'I know you said I can’t do this, but here I am dancing around the edges.' … My guess is there’s no chance for him to surprise at least anyone who is in a decision-making position with what’s going to be on stage or on the field."
We'll find out during Kendrick's Super Bowl LIX performance on February 9, where the Chiefs will face off against the Eagles.
