Hip-hop’s Harry Houdini, Kendrick Lamar, will attempt his biggest trick yet when he takes the stage for the Super Bowl 59 halftime show. For an artist who thrives in mystery, it’ll be hard for us to guess what songs the (now) 22-time Grammy Award winner will pull out of his discography to perform on Sunday. Still, that didn’t stop us from trying to predict Lamar’s setlist for the show and pinpoint the artists who will help him pull off this musical sleight of hand.
But, before I share my educated guesses, I have to make one thing clear: “Not Like Us” will be played in the Caesars Superdome.
Now, there may be some omitted lyrics and it won’t get the treatment it received during Lamar’s “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert in June, but that infectious, DJ Mustard instrumental will be heard and at least one of the iconic lines from the Grammy-award winning song will be rapped in New Orleans — despite Drake’s best efforts.
Now, that that’s out the way, here’s CBS Sports’ Super Bowl 59 halftime show predictions:
- Guest artist: SZA
Not really a guess with this one. The TDE pop starlet was announced as one of Kendrick’s guest performers via an Apple Music ad promoting the show. However, with this announcement came a possible hint at another act that could also show up.
Song: Another no-brainer, here. Lamar and SZA will give fans a taste of their upcoming Grand National tour by performing their mega-smash, “All The Stars.” This could also turn into a melody that features “Luther” from Kendrick’s platinum-selling GNX album and SZA’s “Snooze.”
- Guest artist: Tyler, The Creator
In the formerly mentioned Apple Music ad, there’s a line of people marching across the football field while Lamar is talking on his phone. This sparked an internet dialogue that led people to assume that those marching men were an allusion to Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia album roll out. Not to mention, Tyler was by far the most well-received surprise performance at “The Pop Out.” Tyler followed up his “Pop Out” appearance by dropping a freestyle on one of the standout tracks from GNX, “Hey Now.” (We’ll circle back to that later.)
Adding fuel to the social media speculations is that the instrumental for “Hey Now” was used as the backdrop for the Apple Music ad. Also, Tyler recently dropped a football-inspired music video for Chromakopia’s lead single, “Sticky.”
Despite this, Tyler claims that he won’t be at the Super Bowl because he’s on tour, although — as of now — Tyler doesn’t have a show scheduled for Sunday. However, this hasn’t stopped him from popping up to support Lamar in the past. Plus, all signs point to some sort of involvement in the halftime show. I guess we’ll have to wait until Super Sunday to see how it all shakes out.
Song: If he shows up, Tyler will rock the Superdome with “Earfquake.” He’ll also perform the standout song from Chromakopia, “Sticky.”
Oh, and remember I said we’d come back to Tyler’s take on “Hey Now”? Well, somehow, someway, Kendrick is going to perform “Hey Now.” My guess is that it’s played during Tyler’s portion of the show. But, instead of going into Dody6’s verses, Dot will pass it the beat off to Tyler for him to perform his version of the track, thus crowning his freestyle the official remix.
- Guest artist: Baby Keem
How could Lamar grace the Super Bowl stage without bringing along the premiere artist from his PGLang record label and his literal blood-cousin? It just wouldn’t make sense. After all, football is a family-friendly event.
Song: Sticking with the theme of his appearance, Baby Keem and Lamar will perform their hit, “Family Ties.”
- Guest artist: Black Hippy
You can’t tell the story of Lamar in its totality without his TDE labelmates ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul. Together, they form like Vultron to create the rap supergroup Black Hippy. Do I think they will perform one of their deep-cut remixes? No. But, I do think they’ll be on the field together at some point to soak in a moment that they helped build.
Song: This is going to be Jay Rock’s time to shine. All four members of Black Hippy will be on the 50-yard-line while Jay Rock performs his Grammy-winning song, “Win.” The 2018 record is already a sports anthem, and it fits the show perfectly.
- Guest artist: A New Orleans native
This year’s Super Bowl is taking place in arguably America’s first music capital. Just like you can’t tell the story of Lamar without TDE and Black Hippy, you can’t tell the story of hip-hop without jazz — a uniquely New Orleans export. Without this beautiful form of improvisation, we don’t get the Super Bowl 59 halftime show. Lamar understands this, so look for him to pay homage to the city by bringing out one of it’s beloved sons or daughters. Would I love for it to be Lil Wayne and the Hot Boyz? Definitely! But given the way things played out on social media between Young Money/Cash Money Records following Lamar’s feud with Drake, we should assume that that door is closed. This, in turn, creates a lane for someone like Master P to step in.
Not only is Master P a New Orleans icon, he also has ties to California and Compton — just ask DeMar DeRozan, someone who was a key figure in the “Not Like Us” beef between Drake and Lamar. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if Master P is involved, like almost all of us, I’m pulling for a Hot Boyz reunion.
Song: If it’s Master P, he could be incorporated in a variety of ways. He could be the announcer of Lamar’s arrival in New Orleans, giving a brief history of Los Angeles’ connection to the city. This would be similar to the way E-40 was utilized at “The Pop Out.” Or, he could perform a cult classic hit like “Down for my N***az,” “Make em Say Ugh” or “‘Bout It, ‘Bout It.’
If it’s the Hot Boyz, then you already know how that’s going to go. “Back That Azz Up” is getting mixed into “Squabble Up” to create a crazy mash up that somehow ends with “TV Off.” Man, I can just picture it now.
- Guest artist: Jazz icons
Further paying tribute to New Orleans, don’t be shocked to see current Jazz stars like Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and Kamasi Washington (who got a shoutout on “Squabble Up”) incorporated in the performance.
Song: These jazz stars will be cleverly worked into the performance through cameos that only the trained eye will catch. However, they’ll be instrumental (no pun intended) to the section of the show that highlights To Pimp a Butterfly. Expect them to be worked into “Alright” and/or “These Walls.”
- Guest artist: A Grand (National) finale
From Beyonce to U2 to Rihanna, Lamar has a laundry list of legendary artists that he could choose from to help him close out the show. Personally, I’m pushing my chips into the middle of the table by predicting that Lamar pulls out his ace-in-the-hole, Taylor Swift. Together, they’ll cap off the show by performing “Bad Blood.”
How fitting would that be? Swift was name-dropped throughout Kendrick’s entire lyrical exchange with Drake and she has a deep connection to both the Eagles and Chiefs. I know it’s far-fetched to think that she’ll climb out of her box seats in the middle of the biggest game of the year to perform with Dot, but it’s not improbable!
Song: I already told you where I’m leaning on this one. But even if T-Swift doesn’t perform with Lamar, “Bad Blood” will be played at some point during the halftime show while the camera pans to her at least three times — or maybe 13 times.
Beyonce could also make an appearance to perform their battle cry anthem, “America Has a Problem” or Rihanna could ascend from the Fenty heavens to grace us with “Loyalty.” There’s even a chance that Dr. Dre or Pharrell could grace the gridiron. The possibilities may be endless, but halftime won’t be.
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Author: Xavier Handy-Hamilton
February 4, 2025 | 9:25 am
