Kendrick Lamar’s first Super Bowl halftime show appearance came in 2022, where he joined Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige at Super Bowl LVI.
Lamar was only on stage for a couple of minutes, but on Sept. 8, 2024, the NFL announced the Compton-based rapper would headline the Super Bowl LIX halftime show.
The announcement came after a highly publicized and intense feud with fellow rapper Drake, forcing many fans to pick a side. Some criticized the NFL’s decision to pass over New Orleans native Lil’ Wayne, but you cannot deny Lamar’s extensive history of successful records.
Having first broken onto the scene in the late 2000s, Lamar has been going strong for more than 15 years.
With over a decade’s worth of material to choose from, what’s going to make the cut on Super Bowl Sunday?
Here’s what his setlist could look like on Feb. 9, 2025. Let’s take a look.
The Art of Halftime Show Setlist Selection
Choosing a setlist for the Super Bowl halftime show is a tricky thing. At a usual concert, an artist has hours to perform. At the Super Bowl, they’ve got approximately 15 minutes.
That means you’re looking at a mix of your biggest songs, your favorite songs and hopefully a “stadium song” or two. (Meaning a song that plays well in a live arena, with most of the audience joining in to create a high-energy moment).
So how will Lamar pack more than a decade of music into just a few minutes? It might look something like this. (In no particular order).
Kendrick Lamar’s Biggest Hits: Likely Choices for the Setlist
Some songs (or at least snippets of them) seem like locks for the halftime show. Tracks that fall into that category are:
- “Humble:” This became the biggest single from Lamar’s 2017 album “Damn.” To me, this definitely fits the bill of a stadium song, because 80,000+ are going to scream “my left stroke just went viral!”
- “DNA:” Another banger from “Damn,” this track would make a good opening as it brings high energy from the jump.
- “B-tch Don’t Kill My Vibe:” Hard to imagine the NFL is going to love this one, considering the profanity is front-and-center. But it’s a throwback track and one of Lamar’s biggest. Seems like it’ll end up on the set.
- “Not Like Us:” Something like this gets tricky. It’s Lamar’s most-popular song at the moment, a scorching diss track aimed at Drake. However, there are rumors that Lamar might bring Lil’ Wayne out for a surprise performance. Considering how close Wayne and Drake are, there’s no way we’re getting both. It’ll be one or the other.
- “Like That:” Lamar appeared on this Future track, but it was one of the biggest singles of 2024 and would provide an opportunity to get Future on the show as a surprise.
- “Swimming Pools [Drank]:” One of Lamar’s most popular and catchy songs, “Swimming Pools” seems like a no-brainer unless the NFL nixes it due to the content.
Other Possibilities: Kendrick Lamar’s Artistic Vision
“King Kunta,” “Family Ties,” “All The Stars” and “Money Trees” are all contenders to be on the setlist.
A lot depends on the vision Lamar has for the performance.
There’s a very good chance that we don’t get an entire song, but rather a carefully curated medley. Just getting to the “left stroke” line in “Humble” will take about one minute. So that leaves just another 14 at most.
With time being of the essence, it will be fascinating to see not only what Lamar considers his best work, but also what the NFL will allow in the performance.
Collaborations and Guest Appearances
There are rumors speculating that artists Future, SZA, Lil’ Wayne or Travis Scott could be joining Lamar. But Lamar hasn’t just worked with rappers in his career. He’s previously worked with Maroon 5 (a group that’s also headlined a Super Bowl) and Taylor Swift.
It seems a stretch to call them “reports,” but there have been plenty of rumors that the NFL wanted Swift for a halftime show. That obviously makes a lot of sense, but depending on who you believe the NFL has either never asked Swift, or Swift rejected the offer.
But there’s a chance we could get a surprise appearance and a quick performance of “Bad Blood” at the Super Bowl. It would certainly move the needle for the league.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Predicting Kendrick Lamar's Halftime Show Setlist at Super Bowl 59.
