Last year, Kendrick Lamar legendarily performed “Not Like Us” five times in a row at his Juneteenth Pop Out concert at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
And he probably could’ve done it at least three times in a row for the whole 13 minutes of his Super Bowl halftime-show set — and everybody would’ve been happy.
That’s the kind of hype energy that “Not Like Us” brought to the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans midway through the Super Bowl LIX showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
After all, attendees were all Serena Williams — bopping along to her fellow Compton-native as a surprise backup dancer.
Although there had been some talk that Lamar might not perform the controversial Drake diss track that even had the “God’s Plan” rapper sue Universal Music Group — the umbrella record company that he and Lamar share — really there was just about as much of a chance of him not doing the battle rap classic as Taylor Swift not showing up to cheer on Travis Kelce.
Lamar didn’t shy away from taking aim at Drake, as he even rocked a blinged out “a” chain for the mic-drop lyric “Try to strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.” But he did avoid the single most damning word where he calls him a “pedophile.”
On this night, “Not Like Us” had come to symbolize more than the epic Drake beef, with a universal appeal — and a sickeningly infectious beat by DJ Mustard — made for Super Bowl-sized consumption.
Of course, Lamar is bigger than one song. And with Samuel L. Jackson opening the proceedings and presiding over the festivities like a pseudo Uncle Sam, he and his army of dancers were in red, white and blue formation as they took the stage from his signature GNX to his recent No. 1 hit “Squabble Up.” It was as appropriate of a theme as you could have for the Super Bowl.
“The revolution about to be televised,” he said.
Dressed down in a bomber, baseball cap and jeans — this may go down as the most casual halftime show fit of all time — Lamar went into his 2017 chart-topper “Humble” with his dancers in lockstep. It made for a solid one-two punch to begin the show.
But then there was a bit of a lull with the “Damn” album track “DNA” and two numbers from Lamar’s new LP “GNX” — “Man at the Garden” and “Peekaboo” — that only hardcore Kendrick fans would know surrounding “Euphoria,” another Drake diss track.
But then SZA came to the rescue on their hits “All the Stars” and “Luther,” injecting a welcome dose of female feels, although it would’ve been nice if she also did one of her solo songs, say “Kill Bill.” And it was a bit of letdown that her appearance was no surprise.
Lamar strangely didn’t go out with a bang with “Not Like Us,” instead sending it off with “TV Off,” another “GNX” track. It was an anticlimactic ending because where can you go after “Not Like Us”?
There were surely other songs that could’ve made for a better set list, starting with Lamar’s Black Lives Matter anthem “Alright.” However, perhaps he didn’t want to repeat that after performing it at the 2022 Super Bowl during the Dr. Dre-led hip-hop extravaganza also featuring Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent.
But even “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “Backseat Freestyle,” “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe,” “I” or “King Kunta” would’ve made this set pop more. And what about “Like That,” the posse cut with Future and Metro Boomin that got the Drake beef cooking last year?
And this was missing some of the production razzle dazzle we are accustomed to seeing on the biggest stage in the game.
Still, as the first solo rapper to headline the halftime show, it was all about “Not Like Us.”
Last week, the song won Lamar five Grammys, including Record and Song of the Year. It was only the second time that a rap track captured those two prestigious gramophones, after Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” in 2019.
Taking the Pulitzer Prize winner to another, career-redefining level, the final salvo in his battle with Drake turned into a hip-hop anthem for the ages — and turned Lamar into a Super Bowl halftime show headliner.