Kendrick Lamar didn’t get paid for his Superbowl performance; contrary to popular belief, the NFL does not compensate its Halftime Show stars, but the epic exposure he received has already added to his nine-figure net worth.
And it wasn’t just the record 133.5 million Halftime Show viewers who tuned in on television, either. Lamar’s 13-minute performance video on the NFL’s YouTube account received 71 million views, while videos on its TikTok gained an additional combined 87.3 million views (and counting).
The day after the Super Bowl, Lamar owned the top six spots on Spotify, totaling more than 11 million streams, which made him the most streamed artist in the entire world, according to Forbes.
His provocative Halftime Show performance featured cameos by SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, and Serena Williams, capping off a spectacular year for the Compton-based rapper.
Lamar’s May 2024 release, “Not Like Us,” the latest installment in his feud against Drake, won five Grammys, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and ranked as the longest-running number-one rap song on Billboard’s charts.
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In November 2024, he released the surprise album “GNX,” and during the track “TV Off,” Lamar gave a memorable shout-out to his producer, Mustard, that went bananas on social media, inspiring countless memes and even a collaboration with Heinz — the condiment company is set to release a remixed flavor in his honor this summer.
Perhaps it’s Lamar himself who has best summed up his career — as well as his subversive style — when he said that “money trees is the perfect place for shade.”
So, what's his net worth now?
Phil McCarten/CBS via Getty Images
What is Kendrick Lamar’s net worth in 2025?
Forbes estimated Lamar’s net worth at $38.5 million — in 2019. That was two albums ago, when he ranked at #95 on their Celebrity 100 list.
But due to his skyrocketing successes over the past few years, online sources now estimate that Lamar's net worth has soared to $140 million.
This is due to ticket sales from major events, like Lamar’s “Big Steppers Tour,” which generated $110.9 million between 2022 and 2024, and buzzworthy tracks, such as “Not Like Us,” which brought in $7.6 million in streaming, sales, and publishing revenue alone.
In addition, the wordsmith has endorsement deals with Nike, Beats by Dre, and American Express that are worth around $2 million each, along with a slew of million-dollar homes in Los Angeles and New York (more on that below).
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Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake: What's the beef?
At last count per Forbes, Drake's net worth is $150 million, which means that he actually has more money than Lamar.
However, their history of “diss tracks,” or intentionally disrespecting one another through verse, goes back even further than that — as far back as 2013, when Lamar called out Drake on Big Sean’s “Control.”
The diss track genre is well-known throughout hip hop, with the East Coast/West Coast rivalry of the 1990s being one prime example. Drake and Lamar rebooted the concept in 2024 through a series of songs squarely aimed at each other.
Diss track revenues
| Date | Song | Artist | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
March 26, 2024 |
"Like That" |
Kendrick Lamar, Future, and Metro Boomin |
$4.6 million |
April 19, 2024 |
"Push Ups" |
Drake |
~$1 million |
April 30, 2024 |
"Euphoria" |
Kendrick Lamar |
$440,000 |
May 3, 2024 |
"Family Matters" |
Drake |
~$1 million |
May 3, 2024 |
"Meet the Grahams" |
Kendrick Lamar |
$800,000 |
May 4, 2024 |
"Not Like Us" |
Kendrick Lamar |
$7.6 million |
Total: $15 million |
Through an analysis of revenues, Billboard found that Lamar came out the clear winner this time, pocketing $13.4 million of the $15 million series total.
However, Drake may score an even bigger win — this time in the courtroom — as Lamar’s lyrics have grown increasingly hostile; in “Not Like Us,” he even accused Drake of pedophilia, which made it a controversial choice for the Superbowl, something Lamar hyped to great suspense during his Halftime Show performance.
Kendrick Lamar’s early life
Born on June 17, 1987, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth’s birthplace is Compton, but his parents, Paula Oliver and Kenneth “Kenny” Duckworth, hailed from the South Side of Chicago. They moved to Los Angeles in 1984 to create a better life for their family after Kenny became involved with organized crime.
Greatness was his destiny; Lamar was named after Eddie Kendricks, who sang falsetto in The Temptations, although Lamar’s mother described her son not as a showman but, rather, a loner.
His childhood was turbulent, with his family experiencing homelessness and, later, receiving welfare and food stamps, but Lamar said he has good memories from that time because it's when his interest in hip hop grew. He earned straight A's in school and excelled in English.
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According to HipHopDX, Lamar's whole life changed when he heard a recording of his voice: “I was just infatuated by how I could change my voice on this piece of equipment and it comes back over instrumentation and it makes music.”
Lamar’s introduction to police brutality came with the Los Angeles riots in 1992. He witnessed a murder for the first time at five years of age when a drug dealer got killed in a drive-by shooting.
He was encouraged by his teachers, who taught him literary forms and poetry, and he started journaling as a way to deal with his psychological trauma as well as practice songwriting.
But at Centennial High School, Lamar became embroiled in gang life and had numerous run-ins with the law. However, after one of his friends was killed, his father staged an intervention, and he changed his ways, converting to Christianity, and telling The New York Times that he poured his soul into his music and became the voice of his community.
Kendrick Lamar says Tupac visited him in a dream and told him “Don’t let my music die." pic.twitter.com/10sczOTV5a
— WORLDSTARHIPHOP (@WORLDSTAR) June 18, 2016
Kendrick Lamar’s musical style & influences
Lamar’s biggest influence is Tupac Shakur — he and his father were in the crowd at the Compton Swap Meet when he and Dr. Dre filmed the music video for their 1995 hit, “California Love.”
Lamar even saw a vision of Shakur during a low moment at the beginning of his recording career, when he was sleeping on his Mom’s couch. Shakur came to him in a dream and encouraged him to never give up.
Lamar began rapping under the stage name K.Dot, releasing five freestyle mix tapes that quickly earned the attention of local producer Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, who in 2005 signed him to a contract on his label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE).
The following year, the budding rapper received an artist development deal from Def Jam Recordings, although he was let go after Jay-Z listened to — and dismissed — his music.
So the 5’6” star made an effort to be truer to himself. He started using his real name as a way to express his identity, and his style became simpler — yet increasingly powerful. Lamar has a masterful sense of storytelling that has been compared to lyrical journalism, detailing the stereotypes and injustices Black Americans face and often including references to U.S. politics and history. He considers himself to be a “conscious rapper,” telling Interview Magazine, “I’m a conscious artist because I have a conscience.”
Kendrick Lamar’s discography
In 2010, Lamar’s fifth mixtape, “Overly Dedicated” hit Billboard’s R&B/HipHop chart, peaking at #72, where it gained the notice of Dre himself, who became his mentor.
"Section.80"
With Dr. Dre’s support in the studio, Lamar’s debut album, “Section.80,” was released on July 2, 2011. A conceptual album, it describes the story of Tammy and Keisha, who grew up in the 1980s and struggled to make their way through a world full of drug abuse, ADHD, and the politics of Ronald Reagan.
Lamar began touring on college campuses around the country. He also signed a contract with Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records that allowed him to continue to record under the TDE label.
He was actually Drake’s opening act on his “Club Paradise Tour” in 2012, although Lamar later characterized the "Hotline Bling" singer by saying, “Pin the tail on the donkey, boy you been a fake.”
"Good Kid, M.A.A.D City"
Lamar’s second album, “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” was released on October 22, 2012, and again received acclaim for its songwriting. Another conceptual album, this one told Lamar’s personal coming-of-age story and spent more than 10 consecutive years on Billboard 200, which made it the longest-charting hip-hop album in history.
“The Recipe,” included a track by Dr. Dre; Lamar’s vocals were even featured on the song “Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst.”
Lamar embarked on the BET Music Matters Tour in 2012 and opened for Kanye West’s Yeezus Tour in 2012, although he was struggling at the time with depression, suicidal thoughts, and survivor’s guilt following the death of several friends, telling MTV that “I gotta get back off that tour bus and go to these funerals.”
At the end of the tour, Lamar experienced a nervous breakdown.
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Still, his star was on the rise. In addition to his own music, Lamar collaborated with Big Sean, Robin Thicke, Eminem, Adam Levine — even Taylor Swift, who invited him to remix “Bad Blood” in 2015, which became his first Billboard number-one single.
"To Pimp a Butterfly"
Lamar’s third album, 2015’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” was influenced by the works of Miles Davis and Parliament-Funkadelic. It came out at a time of heightened racial tensions sparked by the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Freddie Grey at the hands of police.
The album provided a critique of racism and institutionalized oppression and became Lamar’s first album to hit number one on Billboard. It also won two Grammys.
Yo @dangerookipawaa after that @kendricklamar Grammy performance , you have to release those untitled tracks asap!!! What's up? Talk to me
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 23, 2016
“Untitled Unmastered”
Impressed by his Grammy performance, NBA superstar LeBron James posted on Twitter asking Lamar and his producers to release the rest of his tracks from the album. “Untitled Unmastered,” a selection of eight tracks that were cut from “To Pimp a Butterly,” was released on March 4, 2016; more critical acclaim followed, along with another number-one spot on Billboard.
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"Damn"
Many consider “Damn,” Lamar’s 2017 album, to be his darkest work to date — it centered around the struggle of good versus evil and became the first rap album to have every track sell 500,000 units.
It also showcased his piano skills on the tracks “HUMBLE.” “The Dam Tour” marked Lamar’s first world tour and grossed $62.7 million.
"Black Panther"
In 2018, Lamar curated the soundtrack to the Marvel hit “Black Panther,” echoing themes from the film by writing or producing every track.
It earned him five more Grammys in the process, as well as the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music. This made him the first non-classical or jazz composer to do this.
Later that year, Lamar embarked on another world tour, “The Championship Tour,” which grossed $111 million in ticket sales, rap music's top-selling rap tour to date.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
"Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers"
In 2022, Lamar made his first Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. His fifth album, “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,” was released on May 13, 2022, and shot to number one on the Billboard charts. It also reached one billion streams on Spotify.
Kendrick Lamar’s real estate holdings
Lamar purchased a $42 million Brentwood compound in May 2024. Spanning 16,000 square feet, it had 16 bedrooms and eight bathrooms at the time of his purchase, along with a guest house, swimming pool, spa, and outdoor kitchen.
Architectural Digest reports that Lamar also owns a $2.65 million Calabasas home where members of his family reportedly reside, a $9.7 million Manhattan Beach mansion, and a $15.85 million Bel Air home.
In 2023, Lamar added an East Coast property to his lucrative real estate portfolio by scooping up a $8.6 million penthouse in Brooklyn.
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Kendrick Lamar's personal life
Superbowl fans speculated that Lamar and SZA are dating, but that's fake news.
Lamar is in a relationship with his high school sweetheart, Whitney Alford. They became engaged in 2015 and share two children together.
Uzi, their daughter, was born on July 26, 2019. The couple announced the birth of their son, Enoch, through the cover art of "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers" in 2022.
What’s Kendrick Lamar up to in 2025?
Lamar and SZA are embarking on the "Grand National Tour," which is set to begin in the spring of 2025. It features 19 stops across North America; tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster.
Vibe magazine thinks Lamar will drop another album in 2025 because the song he teased for "GNX" in 2024 actually wasn't on the album. Therefore, it could appear on a forthcoming release — and you can be sure the whole world can't wait to hear what happens next.
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