Taking part in the largest stage within the sport on the Tremendous Bowl halftime present, Kendrick Lamar will faucet into the combative power that can be happening between the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s the identical aggressive spirit that he has at all times delivered to his rap assault.
“My intent was to always keep … the nature of it as a sport,” Lamar, 37, mentioned throughout an unique interview on Thursday with Apple Music, which sponsors the halftime present. “I love when artists grit their teeth. Like, I still watch battle raps. I still watch Smack/URL, from Murda Mook to [Loaded] Lux to Tay Roc, my bro Daylyt. This has always been the core definition of who I am, and it’s been that way since day one.”
Lamar can be within the ring by himself on Sunday on the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans as the primary solo rapper to headline the Tremendous Bowl — after beforehand showing within the Dr. Dre-led halftime present alongside Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent in 2022.
“How I process it all is just, I continue to do what I was doing 10 years ago, and that’s, like, get better in myself, better in the craft, and not look at the bright lights,” he mentioned. “I gotta look at myself in the mirror rather than looking at the crowd or, you know, fame and attention.”
Popping out of the streets of Compton, Calif., the concept of headlining the Tremendous Bowl halftime present was by no means in Lamar’s wildest goals.
“I wasn’t thinking about no Super Bowl, for sure,” he mentioned. “We was thinking about the best verse and how we gonna split the $5 at Church’s Chicken or something like that. It wasn’t no Super Bowl — it was going to the studio and getting a meal. But what I know is, the passion I have now is still the passion I had then. And I think that carried on to the Super Bowl.”
Lamar mentioned that “being present” has additionally helped put together him for this second.
“It was all about being present,” he mentioned. “Long as I was present in the studio and present in whatever that line was … I think being present and not actually foreseeing everything kept me in the grounded state of mind in order to be in, you know, big stages like this.”
And after profitable 5 Grammys on Sunday, together with Document and Track of the 12 months for “Not Like Us” — bringing his complete gramophone haul to 22 — the 2018 Pulitzer Prize recipient is elevating hip-hop tradition as soon as once more together with his Tremendous Bowl halftime present.
“It made me think about, like, the grind of it,” he mentioned. “Lots of people don’t see the story earlier than the glory, man, and that s—t’s like shuffling out your mixtapes and, you realize, going to neighborhoods and events and acting at hole-in-the-wall spots.
“So for me, this [means] everything, because it puts the culture on the forefront where it needs to be, and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art form, so to represent it on this type of stage is, like, everything that I’ve worked for and everything that I believe in. As far as the culture, I live and die by it. This s—t done changed my whole family’s life, so I don’t take it for granted at all.”
Lamar can be joined by SZA as his particular visitor for the halftime present. The 2 have beforehand collaborated on hits reminiscent of 2018’s “All the Stars” and 2024’s “Luther,” and they’ll hit the street collectively on the Grand Nationwide Tour coming to stadiums starting April 19 in Minneapolis.
“We’ve been moving fast, like, far as production and rehearsals and stuff,” he mentioned. “So we speak, but we haven’t really got a chance to settle into the moment. For me personally, watching her, her career and where she’s come from, it’s amazing to see … And I’m just honored to be next to her talent.”
As for what else we will count on on Sunday, Lamar shared that his halftime present will contain “storytelling.”
“I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music, and I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on,” he mentioned.
“Whether it’s a world tour or whether it was 500 people at Key Club, I’ve always had a form of that, so I like to always carry on that sense of, you know, make people listen but also … think a little.”
