With a triumphant Super Bowl 2025 halftime performance, Kendrick Lamar declared “Game Over” in his battle with rapper Drake.

Kendrick Lamar gave it his all in his performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The most talked-about rapper of the past 2 weeks invited SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams and Mustard to join him in this performance to praise Compton on the world’s biggest stage – an event that the whole of America is interested in.

The show, with an American flag color scheme, mainly included tracks from his newly released album “GNX” as well as some other tracks from Kendrick Lamar’s music catalog. With Jackson as host (dressed as Uncle Sam), Lamar commanded a massive team of backup dancers who came in and out of the lineup as he toured his discography, performing the tracks “DNA,” “Peekaboo,” “Squabble Up,” and “Humble.”

The “top of the roof, ceiling to ceiling” stage during Kendrick Lamar’s performance at Super Bowl 2025 on the morning of Feb. 10. (Photo: AP)

Kendrick Lamar walked across the stage, a long rectangle dotted with lampposts, to perform “Man at the Garden” and “Peekaboo,” rapping in front of a group of men sitting around one of the lampposts. SZA then appeared to perform “Luther” and “All the Stars” before Lamar skated off to the end zone. (Photo: AP)

(Photo: AP)

Before the most anticipated performance of the 2025 Super Bowl took place, the million-dollar question leading up to the previous Super Bowl was: Would Kendrick Lamar perform “Not Like Us,” the song in which he accused his nemesis Drake of being a pedophile, on the world’s biggest stage?

The rap-loving public’s response was: Why wouldn’t Kendrick Lamar? “Not Like Us” was the most culturally important song of 2024, continuing its dominance this year after winning five Grammys including Song and Record of the Year.

And Kendrick Lamar did just that — bringing “Not Like Us” to the Super Bowl halftime show, placing it at the most important part — the end of the performance. Before performing “Not Like Us,” the smash hit from his back-and-forth with Drake last year, Lamar stood in an X formation on the field and declared, “I wanna play their favorite song, but you know, they like to sue.” This was a reference to the legal action Drake took against Universal Music Group for releasing and promoting “Not Like Us.”

All eyes on Lamar! (Photo: AP)

This led to a moment that confirmed the ultimate winner in the ongoing war of words with Drake, turning the Super Bowl stadium into a street party as dozens of dancers – plus tennis star Serena Williams – moved to the tune. Although Kendrick dropped the word “pedophile” from the song during his performance, he had the crowd roaring as they screamed “A minor,” adding fuel to the fire. Finally? Kendrick Lamar ended his performance with the words “TV Off,” grinning at the camera as “Game Over” lit up the crowd behind him.

Kendrick Lamar held his ground among the dancers to form the American flag during “Humble.” (Photo: AP)

The focus of the Halftime Show was largely on Lamar — who also turned the Super Bowl stage into a parade when he made a surprise guest appearance in 2022 — as he opened the show with an unreleased song featured in a trailer posted to YouTube just hours before “GNX” debuted. (Photo: AP)

This isn’t the first time Kendrick Lamar makes his first Super Bowl appearance. He appeared at the 2022 Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show alongside a bevy of hip-hop and R&B legends. During the 15-minute performance, he shared the stage with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Anderson Paak, creating a big-screen spectacle that spanned generations.

Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the 2025 Super Bowl comes on the heels of a yearlong run of impressive performances that began after his culture-changing rap verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” released last March. In the track, he criticized Drake and J. Cole for including him in hip-hop’s “big three,” a title he has rejected and which in turn sparked a war of words between the trio.

While J. Cole quickly backed away from the fire, Lamar and Drake traded barbs in the months that followed, releasing increasingly scathing diss tracks that leveled accusations of infidelity and pedophilia. All The whole thing came together in May with the release of Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” a Mustard-produced track that quickly became a West Coast anthem.

(Photo: AP)

With the only hit from his feud with Drake, Kendrick Lamar emerged as the — perhaps controversial — victor in the feud as “Not Like Us” became an instant smash, breaking streaming records and becoming his first single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Earlier this month, he had a big win with five gold records at the 2025 Grammy Awards with “Not Like Us.”

Amid the continued success of “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar surprised the world with his latest album, “GNX,” in November after rumors that he was hard at work on a new project. “GNX” debuted atop the Billboard 200, his fifth consecutive chart-topping album, and all 12 songs debuted on the Hot 100, including five at number one.

All of these big wins come as Lamar prepares for his upcoming “Grand National Tour” with SZA, which kicks off April 19 in Minneapolis, MN. The tour will make stops in Atlanta, East Rutherford, and Los Angeles before wrapping up at Washington, DC’s Northwest Stadium on June 18.