Kendrick Lamar Declares “Game Over” With Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Featuring SZA

At long last, the moment everyone has been anticipating for months finally came. Kendrick Lamar declared “game over” with his Super Bowl LIX halftime show featuring his former labelmate, SZA.

The performance opened with a monologue by the legendary Samuel L. Jackson clad in a patriotic outfit. K. Dot ripped through the promotional track for his latest album, GNX, the former No. 1 record “Squabble Up,” and his previous hits “Humble” and “DNA.” His background dancers wore red, blue, and white, and at one point they gathered in formation to symbolize the American flag.

Next, he performed a portion of his Drake diss “Euphoria,” “Man At The Garden,” and “Peekaboo” before telling his women backup dancers that he wanted to perform his smash hit “Not Like Us,” but people “love to sue,” referring to Drizzy’s lawsuit against Universal Music Group for defamation and harassment. Noticeably, the “Not Like Us” beat briefly played in the background. This seamlessly transitioned to “Luther,” where SZA finally appeared and they harmonized throughout the record. The duo continued with “All The Stars” before he reached the climax that everyone wanted.

Finally, Kendrick Lamar performed “Not Like Us.” When the line “say Drake” came up, he proudly said it with a smirk, but he did omit the word “pedophile.” Later in the song, the camera cut to Serena Williams crip walking by a street light, which was significant since she is Drake’s ex, he dissed her husband on “Middle Of The Ocean” from Her Loss, and Lamar defended his fellow Compton native on “Not Like Us.”

Dot closed the performance with “TV Off,” specifically the half which begins with him belting “MUSTAAAARD” as the producer stood next to him while he got his bars off. With the performance signifying the final nail in the coffin for his foe, it was only fitting that he yelled “Game Over” while those exact words appeared in lights in the audience. It was truly a moment for those invested in the beef, those invested in this major moment for Kendrick Lamar, and Hip-Hop as a whole. Watch the performance below.

For Kendrick Lamar, this performance signified him bearing the fruit of the labor he put in in 2024. It all began with his March 2024 guest appearance on “Like That” from Future and Metro Boomin’s collaborative album We Don’t Trust You where he targeted Drake and J. Cole. From there, after Drizzy responded, he unleashed “Euphoria,” “6:16 In LA,” “Meet The Grahams,” and “Not Like Us.”

After the 6 God was deemed the loser of the beef, Lamar went on his victory lap, including The Pop Out concert on Juneteenth 2024, the “Not Like Us” music video in July, and his latest album GNX from November 2024. The 12-track album featured SZA, Roddy Ricch, and AzChike and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

K. Dot will now prepare to hit the road with his former labelmate for the Grand National Tour. Their nationwide trek will stop at stadiums in Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, and, of course, Inglewood. What a way to put an exclamation point on one of the biggest moments in Hip-Hop, all starting from what seemed like just an errant diss.