Kendrick Lamar will perform at the 2025 Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime show in New Orleans on Feb. 9. Jay-Z’s Roc Nation group announced the news on Sunday along with Apple Music and the NFL.
“Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” the Roc Nation founder said in a statement, per Variety. “His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”
Producer DPS is putting the show together in collaboration with Roc Nation and executive producer Jesse Collins, as well as director Hamish Hamilton. Lamar’s pgLang company will provide creative direction for the halftime show.
Lamar made his first Super Bowl halftime appearance in 2022. At that time, he was part of Dr. Dre’s star-studded cast with Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
Organizers of the halftime show are hoping to keep the momentum going after enjoying a high-level of success in recent years. The 2024 show, featuring Usher, became the most-watched halftime performance ever and earned three Emmy nominations. In 2023, the halftime show, featuring Rihanna, took two Emmys. The 2022 halftime show earned five Creative Arts Emmy nominations and won three Emmys.
Oliver Schusser, Apple’s Vice President of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports, and Beats, is eagerly anticipating Lamar’s halftime performance like many of his fans.
“The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show is a celebration of the music we love and the incredible artists who make it, all on the world’s biggest stage. Apple is thrilled to bring this show, starring the absolutely incomparable Kendrick Lamar, to fans worldwide with Apple Music’s industry leading Spatial Audio quality along with tons of exclusive videos, interviews, playlists and so much more across Apple Music,” Schusser said in a statement, per Variety.
Lamar has won 17 Grammy awards in his career. The 37-year-old released one of his most successful album’s, Damn., in 2017. Lamar earned a Pulitzer Prize for his 2017 project, making him the first non-classical, non-jazz musician artist to get the award.
The latest news on the Super Bowl halftime show comes in the midst of Lamar’s historic summer, highlighted by his “Not Like Us” track. The song, which was part of a back-and-forth battle with Drake, remained No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks.
