Rare Kendrick Lamar interview reveals Super Bowl Halftime Show plans
The Compton rapper promised “storytelling” in a highly anticipated performance in New Orleans.
When Kendrick Lamar speaks, everybody listens. The Compton rapper rarely sits down with a microphone in hand, preferring to get his messages across over beats. But with his hotly-anticipated Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show coming up on Sunday, there was no better time to corner the elusive poet and ask a few questions.
Sitting down for Apple TV, Kendrick was alongside Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis, where he answered questions from both hosts and a few from lucky fans.
In typical K-Dot fashion, the rapper promised “storytelling”, saying “I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. And I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on, whether it’s a world tour or whether it’s 500 people at Key Club, I’ve always had a form of that. So I like to always carry on that sense of, make people listen, but also see and think a little.”
Kendrick Lamar's advice to young kids on staying "authentic" 🙏
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) February 6, 2025
"They say the number one thing people feel in the room... is being authentic. You have to believe in yourself and know there's only one you."
"You're a miracle... I wake up everyday and I be like, 'this sh*t is… pic.twitter.com/xULZSZPbCE
‘I love to see rap get that type of recognition’
His record ‘Not Like Us’ came as the closing credits to a rap battle with Canadian artist Drake, a feud that propelled rap into the mainstream and the minds of the general public not seen since the early 2000s, when Eminem, 50 Cent and Dr Dre were on the lips of the masses. The song itself won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video at the recent Grammy Awards.
"When people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it is just rap and it’s not an actual art form,” Kendrick lamented." So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people that this is more than just something that came 50 years ago.
“They forget that it’s even been in 50 years and kind of belittle it. So I love to see that it gets that type of recognition from just straight raps, from awards to the billboards, all that, because this is truly just as big as an art form and a genre as any other genre.”
Lamar will be joined by Solána Imani Rowe, known as SZA, who he will also be touring with on his ‘Grand National’ journey across the US in 2025.
On how things are going in terms of the collab, Kendrick admitted that “everything be moving fast, far as production and rehearsals and stuff. So we speak but we haven’t really got a chance to settle into the moment.”
Kendrick Lamar speaks on 'Not Like Us' winning 5 GRAMMY awards👀
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) February 6, 2025
"I just think about the culture, really. When people talk about Rap, people think it's just Rap & it's not an actual art form."
"[People] kind of belittle it, so I love to see it get that kind of recognition. This… pic.twitter.com/USNMeHh5DS
“For me personally, watching her career and where she’s come from, it’s amazing to see. She always had it, man. She always had it. And I’m just honoured to be next to a talent”, he beamed.
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