Kendrick Lamar brings out special guests SZA and Samuel L. Jackson at the Super Bowl halftime show
Samuel L. Jackson, Kendrick Lamar and SZA performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. (Getty Images)
Kendrick Lamar took to the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for a politically-motivated performance of rap music.
The Super Bowl 2025 is well and truly underway, as the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles battle it out in the National Football League (NFL) Championship game.
After an introduction from Samuel L. Jackson, the 17-time Grammy-award winner started strong with his iconic track “GNX” on top of a black car while a group of dancers wore red. The Pulp Fiction star continued to serve a role as an emcee throughout the performance, while he wore a very patriotic Uncle Sam-style outfit.
He jammed a slew of songs into his setlist, including “Squabble Up”, which was teased in the “Not Like Us” music video, and “HUMBLE”. The latter track saw his group of all-Black dancers creating a poignant American flag as they were dressed in red, white and blue.
His joint stadium tour collaborator SZA joined Lamar for their duos “luther” and “All the Stars”, with the latter hailing from the 2018 film Black Panther. After previously teasing beats from his award-winning diss track “Not Like Us”, Lamar gave into fan service and gave the people what they wanted with a stunning performance of the track.
Also featured during the performance was tennis icon Serena Williams, who joined Lamar on stage as she danced to his setlist. The NFL confirmed her appearance in a clip they shared to X (formerly Twitter), writing: “From Compton to NOLA”.
Lamar concluded his performance by shouting out to Compton and performing with his collaborator Mustard as he finished just as strong as he started with “TV OFF”. At the end of his performance, the lights on the field read “GAME OVER”.
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