Kendrick Lamar Doesn't Hold Back on Drake During Super Bowl Halftime Show

One big question loomed over the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show: will Kendrick Lamar play "Not Like Us"?

The answer should have been an obvious yes. It was the song that hit major heights on the Billboard Hot 100 in the past year, and it launched him to the cultural peak where Kendrick became an ideal choice for the Super Bowl.

But Drake's defamation lawsuit against his label Universal Music Group put that into question. Would Kendrick still play the song that plainly calls his Canadian rival a pedophile on one of the biggest televised stages? Or would he tone it down? You could even bet on it on online sportsbooks.

As it turned out, he didn't hold back at all.

At the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday (Feb. 9), Kendrick called game.

In a set loaded with hits both new and old and a deconstruction of Americana hosted by Samuel L. Jackson as "Uncle Sam," he teased the song throughout his performance. Multiple times, he played snippets of the beat or seemed like he was about to launch in, but pulled back. Instead, he also packed the set with his non-Drake-themed hits, including a section with SZA on their duets "Luther" and "All the Stars."

"I want to play my favourite song but you know they love to sue," he said at one point.

But of course, near the end of the set, he went for it.

Lamar gave an impromptu freestyle, positioning his reasoning for ultimately performing the song. “You really ’bout to do it?/ Yeah, they tried to fake the game, but you can’t fake influence,” said Lamar.

The familiar staccato string beat dropped, and he launched into "Not Like Us." He didn't get cute with it either, even rapping the part of the song that namedrops Drake directly with an unmistakable smirk: "Say, Drake, I heard you like 'em young." (He also namedrops his OVO affiliates, Baka Not Nice and Chubbs.) Serena Williams, who once dated Drake, was right there with him on the field dancing.

Then, he performed the part of the song with built-in participation: "trying to strike a chord and it's probably a minnnooor." And the crowd didn't hold back either.

"Not Like Us" transitioned seamlessly into "TV Off," complete with Kendrick's meme-able "Mustard" yell. And that was the show.

If fans had any doubt Kendrick was using the performance to definitively declare his victory, the halftime show called it. The camera cut to the audience, where lights spelled out two words: "GAME OVER."

Now, many hip-hop fans' eyes will be fixed on Australia, where Drake is currently on his Anita Max Wynn Tour.