Kendrick Lamar to Headline The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Monday, September 9, 2024 - 11:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The final year of rap-industry macher Jay-Z's five-year, $25-million deal with the NFL that has remade the Super Bowl's ionic halftime spectacle around the larger music industry's - and the world's - broad embrace of hip-hop culture now has its endgame. The NFL announced on Sunday, as the season's Week 1 games were about to get underway, that rapper Kendrick Lamar would be Super Bowl LIX's halftime music artist.
The announcement was a joint communiqu , from the league, halftime-event sponsor Apple, and Roc Nation, Jay-Z's production company. The show will take place on Sunday, February 9, 2025, airing on Fox, from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I'll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one, Lamar was quoted as saying in the announcement's press release.
Like Jay-Z, Lamar is as much an entrepreneur as an artist. Co-founder of music and visual media production firm pgLang, Lamar is also a 17-time Grammy Award winner and the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize, for his 2017 album DAMN.
Few artists have impacted music and culture as profoundly as Kendrick Lamar, said Seth Dudowsky, the NFL's Head of Music. Time and time again, Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately shake the very foundation of hip-hop. We're excited to collaborate with Kendrick, Roc Nation, and Apple Music to deliver another unforgettable halftime show.
The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show telecast will be produced by DPS, which has produced four Super Bowl halftime shows that have received multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations and one win. The most recent, led by Usher in 2024, averaged 129.3 million viewers - is the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show on record.
Good Timing
The Roc Nation-NFL halftime show relationship has proven both well-timed and very effective. As Vice President Kamala Harris put it prominently and succinctly on her Facebook page, Let's be clear: Hip hop culture is America's culture. And since Roc Nation has managed the music for the annual event, its numbers have steadily improved. This year's Super Bowl LVIII starring Usher as the featured performer became the most-watched halftime performance of all time, garnering three 2024 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live). In 2023, The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show starring Rihanna scored five Emmy nominations, taking home two, including Outstanding Directing For A Variety Special, a first in Super Bowl Halftime history. In 2022, Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show, which celebrated hip-hop's 50th anniversary, featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar and garnered five Creative Arts Emmy nominations. The critically acclaimed performance won three Emmys.
Battle Royale
In addition to his massive fan base and litany of accomplishments, Kendrick will also bring to the Super Bowl a notorious and long-running feud with Drake, his one-time collaborator and, since an escalating series of disses and highly public insults starting in 2013, his nemesis.
The contentious relationship has been a rap version of the famous Hatfields and McCoys vendetta in 19th-century Appalachia. It added a political angle when in 2016 during an interview with several YouTube influencers, then-President Barack Obama was asked if he thought Drake or Lamar would win in a rap battle. Obama responded: Gotta go with Kendrick. I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer. But Kendrick, his lyrics [for To Pimp a Butterfly'] was outstanding. Best album, I think, last year. Two weeks later, Drake released the track Summer Sixteen, dissing Obama and rapping: Tell Obama that my verses are just like the whips that he in / They bulletproof.
(Drake is no slouch when it comes to Grammy Awards - he has five - but he had also boycotted the nominating process for several years, contending at it didn't sufficiently address hip-hop as a genre.)
The situation brings with it the potential for any number of narrative arcs, but the betting seems to be that Lamar has won the battle, with The Ringer asserting that Kendrick's Super Bowl appearance caps his rise to the highest levels of pop culture, while conversely sinking Drake to the lowest levels of his career.
It's a melodramatic contention, but the just the gossipy sort, and with very high stakes, that sports and entertainment thrive on. Expect plenty of sparks from both rap camps between now and next February.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, 3 March 2026 - SES S.A. has today published its 2025 Annual Report, following the announcement of the company's full year financial results for ...
04/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/03/2026
Luxembourg, March 3, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, along with I...
04/03/2026
Scripps Research welcomes healthcare innovator Joe Kiani to the Board of Directors Kiani brings decades of experience in patient safety and public service.
Mar...
04/03/2026
Nanoparticle vaccine approach takes on a new target: Hepatitis C virus Scripps Research scientists reengineer critical proteins on the surface of HCV, paving th...
03/03/2026
Beyond Sports, a Sony group company, and LIV Golf, the world's golf league, ...
03/03/2026
Ilitch Sports + Entertainment announces the launch of Detroit SportsNet (DSN), a year-round broadcast home for two of Detroit's franchises. With flexible op...
03/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media ...
03/03/2026
The PGA of America, NBC Sports and USA Sports extend their media rights agreemen...
03/03/2026
AI device ecosystem company HONOR enters into a strategic technical collaboratio...
03/03/2026
Cleveland's Telos Alliance, pioneers in broadcast technology for 30 years, l...
03/03/2026
The MD 9235 microphone head for wireless handhelds has been a firm favorite with many engineers and artists for its ability to cut through high on-stage levels ...
03/03/2026
Haivision Systems Inc. (Haivision), a global provider of mission-critical, real-...
03/03/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) announces the expansion of its 62,000-square-fo...
03/03/2026
Maroon 5's musical tour in 2025 marked a leap forward in live audio as Monitor Engineer Dave Rupsch utilized Sennheiser's all-digital Spectera wireless ...
03/03/2026
Designed specifically for pro basketball, the renovated space at Gainbridge Fiel...
03/03/2026
As part of the move, former CEO Phillipp Lawo joins the broadcast-tech provider's Supervisory Board
Lawo has announced appointment of Jamie Dunn as chief e...
03/03/2026
A team of legendary announcers and analysts and a classic graphics look will bring the past to life
NBC Sports and Peacock will return to yesteryear for tonigh...
03/03/2026
From April 30 to May 3, Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2026 will offer a selection of exciting independent cinema.
Mexico City, March 3, 2026 - At a moment of he...
03/03/2026
For many, finding time or headspace to pick up a book can feel out of reach, but...
03/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Realtek demonstrate first test solution for Bluetooth LE Hi...
03/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites aspiring and emerging filmmakers from Matatiele and surrounding areas to apply for the Sediba Scriptwritin...
03/03/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
03/03/2026
Nielsen's DMA data gives Magellan AI users a standardized way to measure th...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Marshall Electronics premieres the CV356-10X, its latest compact 10X camera that offers Full HD with simultaneous SDI and HDMI outputs, at NAB 2026 (Booth C8339...
03/03/2026
farmerswife, the industry-leading enterprise operations platform for broadcast and post-production, today announced it will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vega...
03/03/2026
Manfrotto has announced that the Manfrotto ONE Hybrid tripod has won the iF DESIGN AWARD 2026, one of the world's most respected design honours.
Selected ...
03/03/2026
DHD is expanding the capabilities of its DX2, RX2, SX2 and TX2 broadcast audio mixers, RM1 portable production unit and XC3/XD3/XS2 processing cores with the in...
03/03/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia and MoMe, a leading Spanish consultancy and systems integrator, today announced the launch of Spain's first stream...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Home Post Production has further expanded its factual, unscripted, and entertainment capabilities with the acquisition of Picture Shop Bristol, a leading post h...
03/03/2026
Luxembourg, 2 March 2026 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025
FY25 Pe...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Kendrick Lamar to Headline The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
