As a new season of NFL football kicked off this past weekend, the organization announced that Kendrick Lamar would be the main performer of the 2025 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show. Super Bowl 59 (LIX) is scheduled for February 9, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

The selection comes after arguably Lamar’s biggest musical year to date, featuring an epic battle and feud between him and rapper Drake. Lamar has been unofficially declared the winner, as his hit track “Not Like Us” debuted at number one on the Billboard 100 charts and stayed there for two consecutive weeks.  

There will no doubt be controversy around Lamar’s performance since there already has been around his selection. Many were wondering if the honor would be extended to rapper Lil Wayne, who has been vocal about wanting to perform this halftime show in his hometown. 

When the news broke that he would not be the one performing, Wayne released a message letting fans know that it “hurt a whole lot” to not be selected, but that their support and encouragement was keeping him going. 

Fans are now speculating that Lamar might bring Wayne on stage with him at some point during the show, similar to the 2022 performance which included many rappers, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Lamar himself. Many of the performances in the last few years have featured rappers of all kinds, a nod to the prevalence of the genre in today’s world.

“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” Lamar said as part of his announcement of the performance. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”