It’s been a tremendous year for Kendrick Lamar (K-Dot). His feature on Future and Metro Boomin’s single “Like That” in March sparked a viral rap beef and exchange of diss tracks with Drake. Then, his release of “Not Like Us” in May secured him an apparent victory in the rap battle and two nonconsecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Now, Lamar has “headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show” to add to his 2024 accolades.
Through an Instagram video he posted in collaboration with Roc Nation and the NFL, Lamar announced his title as the headliner for the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. The upcoming Halftime Show, held at the Caesars Superdome Stadium in New Orleans, marks. only the second time a rapper will headline the event. It will also be Lamar’s second time on one of the biggest stages in entertainment, following his guest-starring in Dr. Dre’s 2022 Halftime Show.
NFL and music industry greats alike have lauded Lamar as the perfect Halftime Show headliner. Rapper Jay-Z, founder of Roc Nation (the entertainment company that partners with the NFL to produce the Halftime Show), praised Lamar as a “once-in-a-generation artist and performer” with “an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally.”
Seth Dudowsky, head of music for the NFL, said, “Few artists have impacted music and culture as profoundly as Kendrick Lamar. Time and time again, Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately shake the foundation of hip-hop.”
Amidst many celebrations of Lamar joining the ranks of music’s greatest, there is one singer who has yet to sing his praises: Lil Wayne (Tunechi).
In a somber video posted to his Instagram, New Orleans native Lil Wayne expressed his disappointment in not being chosen as the Halftime performer in his hometown. Wayne described how he was “broken” by the decision, explaining how he saw “nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in [his] city.”
Many rappers and music industry moguls have also come to Wayne’s defense, including Nicki Minaj in a series of heated tweets that conveyed her shock at the pass-over of one of hip-hop’s modern legends. Minaj targeted Jay-Z, speculating that he led the decision to exclude Wayne from the Super Bowl stage in his role as the Halftime Show co-producer. Lil Wayne and Jay-Z have thrown jabs at each other throughout their storied rap careers, seemingly squashing their beef in 2015 when Wayne joined the Jay-Z-founded streaming platform Tidal as a co-owner. Minaj alleged that Jay-Z’s “hatred” for rapper Birdman (who signed Lil Wayne to his label in 1998 and declared Wayne to be a “better rapper” than Jay-Z) caused him to decide against Wayne as the 2024 Halftime headliner.
The plot thickened when Halftime Show producer Jesse Collins revealed to Variety that choosing the Halftime headliner is ultimately a “decision that Jay makes” as the founder of Roc Nation and the co-producer of the Halftime performance.
Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show is anticipated to impress and shine a light on the cultural impact of rap music. Still, many critics and music lovers are left wondering what a Lil Wayne show at half would’ve signified for New Orleans and rap music at large. Tune in to Lamar’s headlining debut on Feb. 9 to see the HUMBLE. rapper’s performance and decide for yourself: K-Dot or Lil Tunechi?
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