As Kendrick Lamar took on one of the biggest stages of his career at the 2025 Super Bowl, some might be wondering where his rap nemesis Drake was.
While Lamar, 37, was in New Orleans to perform his highly anticipated halftime show, Drake couldn’t be further away in Melbourne, Australia, performing on his Anita Max Win tour.
The 38-year-old “God’s Plan” rapper kicked off his tour on February 4, days after Lamar won five Grammys — all stemming from his hit Drake diss track, “Not Like Us.”
Following Lamar’s Grammy wins for his chart-topping song, which includes lyrics accusing Drake of pedophilia, Drake’s father brushed off Lamar’s accomplishments, saying: “I don’t care enough about that s***.”
Drake has yet to directly address Lamar’s wins; however, during his first show in Australia, the rapper assured fans he was “very much alive.”
“My name is Drake. I started doing music in 2008,” he told the audience. “I come all the way from Toronto, Canada. The year is now 2025, and no matter what, Drizzy Drake is very much alive and that’s all thanks to you. I love you.”
Lamar took the field midway through the Super Bowl LIX, which saw the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the reigning champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs were looking to extend their winning streak after they beat the Eagles in 2023 and went on to defeat the San Francisco 49ers in 2024.
Lamar was joined by his longtime collaborator and Grammy-winning R&B superstar SZA. He performed his Grammy-winning hit “Not Like Us,” which makes multiple references to Drake’s alleged interactions with younger women.
While the beef between Lamar and Drake goes back to 2014, it escalated last summer when the musicians released multiple diss tracks — calling each other out over physical appearance, talent, use of artificial intelligence, and allegations of pedophilia.
Last month, it emerged that Drake is now suing his own label, Universal Music Group — to which Lamar is also signed — over its release of “Not Like Us.”
Released last May as part of a series of diss tracks, “Not Like Us” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100. It came in response to Drake’s “Family Matters,” made up of three parts, in which he accused Lamar of domestic violence.
Drake is currently traveling on his seventh concert tour, which marks his first in Oceania in eight years since he performed his 2017 Boy Meets World tour.
The tour is named after Anita Max Wynn, a viral character Drake introduced to fans in December 2023 on his Kick live streams. The name references the popular gambling phrase, “I need a max win.”
