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Did Kendrick Lamar’s show live up to the hype?
There was already plenty of will he or won’t he when it came to performing his Grammy Award-winning, Drake demoralizing “Not Like Us” diss song. Well of course he did, but more on that later.
The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show (that’s the official name) opened with an intro from actor Samuel L. Jackson dressed like a no joke and woke patriot, and Kendrick Lamar rapping on the hood of a vintage whip auto, then kicking off with a rousing rendition of “squabble up” with a lot of dancers.
“Mr. Lamar do you really know how to play the game?,” asked Jackson. K. Dot then proceed to roll through a bunch of of his newer-ish hits like “HUMBLE,”with the dancers creating a great, US flag like visuals, “DNA” and “Peekaboo.”
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Lamar then teased “Not Like Us,” with Jackson saying to exercise caution, but first he brought out special guest SZA to perform “Luther” and “All The Stars.”
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With a final be careful from Jackson, K. Dot kicked off the DJ Mustard portion of the show, performing “Not Like Us,” with an entire stadium roaring “A Minor…” in unison before shifting into “tv off.” Oh yeah, that was Serena Williams on stage crip walking. And yes, he looked right into the camera when he uttered, “Say Drake…”
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There were a lot of joints Lamar left in the tuck (“Alright,” “Swimming Pools,” “Backstreet Freestyle” to name a few. But hey, time was limited. Speaking of, sort of, how many people just tuned in for the K. Dot concert with no care at all for the game? Asking for a friend.
Check out some of the more powerful reactions to Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show in the gallery.
