Kendrick Lamar to include ‘storytelling’ in Super Bowl LIX halftime show​on February 6, 2025 at 8:35 pm

NEW ORLEANS — Kendrick Lamar said to expect “storytelling” when he performs in the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show in New Orleans on Sunday.

“I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music,” Lamar said. “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.”

Lamar, who will become the first solo rap artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show, told a packed room on Thursday about his journey and his recent successes. He’ll be joined on Sunday by Grammy Award-winning singer SZA, who will also tour with him this summer.

Lamar said neither has gotten a chance to reflect on the significance during the chaos of this week.

“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,” he said. “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 honored to be next to a talent.”

Last week, Lamar won five Grammy Awards for “Not Like Us”: Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and Best Music Video.

Lamar reflected on his win after the Grammys and what it meant for the rap genre.

“When people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it is just rap and it’s not an actual art form,” he said.” 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.”

While Lamar didn’t offer any specifics about the 13-minute halftime segment, he said “it’s wild” to try to condense it down after coming off a 90-minute set list for the Big Steppers Tour.

“It’s interesting because it lets you know where you at your perspective and how you think about catalog and music,” Lamar said. “For me, I love being present. I love being present, man. It’s my favorite. It’s very hard for me to live in the past, very hard. I respect the past wholeheartedly. But being in the now and being just locked into how I feel and the energy I have now, that’s the L.A. energy for me. That’s something that I want to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see. This is me, this is Kendrick Lamar, 37 years old and I still feel like I’m elevated. I’m still on the journey, though. I want that energy to the television and to the people that’s in that building.”