Super Bowl LIX was an action-packed and thrilling event, with the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to claim their second franchise trophy. However, the excitement wasn’t just about the game; Kendrick Lamar’s electrifying halftime performance also stole the spotlight.
K.Dot headlined the halftime show alongside SZA this year, performing their hit collaboration. However, the night wasn’t just about chart-topping duets and feel-good moments—the 37-year-old Humble rapper also used the stage to bring up his ongoing feud with Drake.
Drake and Lamar have been beefing since April 2024, after Kendrick made the song Like That, in which he says:
“Motherf*ck the big three, ni**a, it’s just big me,”
It was in response to Drake’s verse in First Person Shooter:
“Love when they argue the hardest MC, Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? We the big three like we started a league.”
After this, there has been a series of diss tracks thrown at each other, one of the most popular being the song They Not Like Us; a diss track that caught on like a forest fire, the song fetched Lamar five Grammy Awards this year.
It was already starting to look bad for Drizzy when the Compton rapper went to collect his award for Record of the Year at the Academy Awards, and the song Not Like Us started to play in the background, with everyone in the audience screaming, “A Minorrrrrrr.”
And if you thought that was the last time Drake was getting dragged into this, then you are wrong. During the halftime ceremony, there were some subtle and some not-so-subtle disses directed toward the Canadian rapper. While playing the diss song is the obvious one, let’s look at a few instances that were a call-out to Drake.
6. “A Minor” Diamond-Studded Chain
Kendrick wore a stylish jacket to the halftime performance—a custom-made varsity jacket that reads “Gloria,” the last song of the album with SZA featuring in it. There was no doubt his dress often attracted glances from people, but this time, it was the “minor” chain that caught people’s attention.
KENDRICK WEARING A LOWER CASE ‘a’ DIAMOND CHAIN FOR A MINOR ????? MY KINDA OF HATER 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 holy shit 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
— din (@klooowry) February 10, 2025
While it’s not confirmed if it stands for the pgLang symbol or if it’s a diss directed at the One Dance singer with Kendrick, it’s never just a chain. Many assume it’s probably a double entendre, hinting at his company while also staying consistent at calling out Drake.
5. Lawsuit Joke Cracked Before Teasing Not Like Us
Not many were sure whether Lamar was going to perform the diss track at the sporting event. And to keep the viewers guessing, he made a joke about Drake’s lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) for promoting the diss song despite its claims being untrue.
Drake, who filed a lawsuit for defamation against the same record label he is tied to, faced criticism for acting childish after losing the beef battle. While some would play it safe after a lawsuit, Kendrick did the exact opposite. He made a joke by teasing his diss track and stopping it by saying:
“I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.”
Another diss aimed at Drake for not taking the loss like a champ but for being sore about losing—but can you blame him? Being called a pedophile in front of the whole world doesn’t seem too fun.
4. Performing the Diss Song
While he was performing his set, before singing the popular diss track Not Like Us, he also sang one of his older disses—Euphoria. The track was a response to Drizzy’s Push-Ups. Right when you think it will be his only diss at the halftime show, he brings the heat with Not Like Us, the most popular diss track that ruled 2024.
The words were changed a tad bit so as not to make it seem like it was not entirely directed at Drake, but it was pretty evident that it was. He had around 80,000 live audience call the Canadian rapper a “Certified Pedophile” and then doubled down with the crowd screaming “a minor.”
There were only speculations of him singing the diss, but he cleared the doubts, showing the layer of hate he has towards Drake.
3. “Say Drake”—While Looking Straight Into the Camera
When Lamar was performing the song, there was one instance when the lyric went like, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young.” K. Dot looked straight into the camera with a wicked smile when he sang it, making it feel quite sinister.
It almost felt like he was piercing through the TV and looking right into Drizzy’s eyes when he said it.
If getting called out on national television was not menacing enough, the internet took it from there by sharing hilarious memes surrounding the incident, making sure the moment is not going anywhere anytime soon.
2. SZA and Serena Williams both show up alongside Kendrick Lamar
Remember when Drake released the song Push Ups, and in the diss against Kendrick, he said, “You ain’t in no big three, SZA got you wiped down”? Well, looks like the bar aged like milk.
Over the years, SZA and Lamar have done multiple songs together, with All The Stars being one of the most popular. When the More Life album creator tried to drag SZA to his side, she didn’t play along. She did not want to be part of the beef between the two rappers.
SZA has a great friendship with Lamar, and they have done multiple songs together. In hindsight, it was not smart for Drake to involve her in the fight. Despite not wanting to be involved in the beef, she has often paired with Kendrick, as she featured in his new album GNX, where they both have two tracks together.
To perform one of the new tracks—Luther—she joined Kendrick Lamar on stage, where they both sang it in perfect harmony, making the crowd go berserk, after which they performed their most popular song, All The Stars.
But the final nail in the coffin was hit when Serena Williams c-walked to Kendrick Lamar performing Not Like Us. Drake and Serena Williams made headlines for dating rumors, but neither of them acknowledged it. However, when Drake made the popular hit song Too Good with Rihanna, he confirmed that he was directing the song towards the tennis champ.
Kendrick defended her with a warning in Not Like Us to keep her name out. It felt like a direct diss at him when he had Serena Williams c-walk to his song.
1. “Game Over” Message at the End of the Halftime Show
After his 13-minute performance, when he walks out of the stage, the camera pans out to reveal a message lit up from the stands that says, “Game Over.” While it is inconclusive to say if the message is game-related or if it’s the showdown of Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake.
It felt like a really important moment for hip-hop followers as they pondered whether this was the DNA singer’s last trick against the OVO rapper or if there was more to come.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
