Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Lamar made the announcement on Sunday via his social media, with the NFL also confirming the news.
“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 said in a statement.
Super Bowl LIX will take place on February 9, 2025, in New Orleans and will air on FOX. The NFL, Roc Nation, and Apple Music revealed the news at the start of the 2024-2025 NFL season.
Lamar, known for hits like “Not Like Us,” previously performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022 alongside Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and 50 Cent. However, this will be his first time headlining the event, which draws millions of viewers annually.
Jay-Z, whose company Roc Nation is overseeing Lamar’s live performance, praised the rapper as “a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” adding that Lamar’s work “transcends music” and his influence on culture is “unparalleled.”
Lamar is widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s most influential artists. He has won 17 Grammys and made history in 2017 by earning a Pulitzer Prize for his album Damn, becoming the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to receive the honor. In 2022, he released his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers. His hit single “Like That,” a collaboration with Future and Metro Boomin, spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His track “Not Like Us,” released in April 2024, topped the chart for two weeks.
Last year, Usher headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, drawing a record-breaking 123.4 million viewers, while Rihanna’s 2023 performance ranks as the second-most watched, with 121 million viewers.
Super Bowl LVIII saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling game, becoming the most-watched American television broadcast in a generation.
