Kendrick Lamar took diss tracks to another level on Sunday night at Super Bowl LIX.
The Compton hip-hop star put his disdain for Canadian rapper Drake on full display at the end of the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show — with a star-studded, high-octane performance of “Not Like Us.”
Samuel L. Jackson introduced Kendrick at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Casually dressed in jeans, a blue varsity-style jacket with red and white letters, a black cap and chains, the rapper was surrounded by dancers wearing patriotic red, white and blue outfits.
K-Dot proceeded to perform some of his biggest hits, including “squabble up,” “HUMBLE.,” and “tv off.”
Related: Charlamagne Tha God Dragged for Suggesting Kendrick Lamar Skip ‘Not Like Us’ at Super Bowl
Halfway through his 13-minute set, Grammy-winning R&B singer SZA graced the stage in an all-red ensemble. Then Kendrick and SZA — who will be touring together this spring — performed their singles “luther” and “All the Stars.”
Next it was time for the finale, which is sure to have people talking.
Sam Jackson, serving as Uncle Sam, jokingly told Kendrick “you’re almost there, don’t mess this up” — seemingly warning him not to perform his five-time Grammy Award-winning Drake diss track.
It was almost as if Jackson was mocking radio personality Charlamagne tha God, who made similar comments on his podcast earlier in this weekend, saying: “I just don’t think he should do a diss record on a big stage like that.”
Kendrick ignored the warnings and gave his fans what they wanted — “Not Like Us” — although he did make the lyrics a little more family friendly.
Still, he kept the “A minor” verse — [full lyrics here] — and the stadium erupted, with people in the audience shouting the verse — destroying Drake’s reputation.
Even more surprising, cameras panned across the stage and tennis icon, fellow Compton native, and former Drake love interest — Serena Williams — was there Crip-walking in a blue and white tennis outfit.
Drake and Serena briefly dated in 2011, and according to the New York Post, he even wrote the song “Too Good” about her. Serena is now married to tech mogul Alexis Ohanian. By the way, SZA also dated Drake.
Score a win for Kendrick and his ultimate Drake diss! So far, no word from Drizzy on social media about the Kendrick-SZA-Serena “Not Like Us” performance.
You can watch the performance on the NFL’s YouTube page.
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