All the Controversy and Chaos Behind The Super Bowl 59 Halftime Show

“Big as the what? Big as the Super Bowl!” rapped Drake and J Cole back when they sneak dissed Kendrick Lamar on their song “First Person Shooter.” 

That song was the gas that turned a small flame into a raging fire that is still very much burning in late September — nearly a year since the release of Drake’s song that took some subtle jabs at Lamar.

Drake may have proclaimed himself as being “bigger than the Super Bowl,” but as of Sept. 8 there is only one rapper that will be gracing the stage in New Orleans during Super Bowl 59 and that rapper is not Drake. That rapper is Kendrick Lamar.

On Feb. 9, 2025, with the entire country (and maybe even the world) watching, the trademark horns of “Not Like Us” — Lamar’s chart-topping diss of Drake — will ring out and Lamar will show everyone who is “as big as the Super Bowl” at the Caesars Superdome. 

Leading up to the announcement of Lamar headlining the Super Bowl halftime show it has been a whirlwind of a year for the Compton-based artist. Back in October, Lamar took offense to the somewhat hidden insults directed at him from Drake and hopped on “Like That” with Metro Boomin and Future to return the favor.

Lamar’s response on “Like That” in March of this year triggered a slew of diss tracks from J Cole and Drake the following month. Lamar responded with disses “Euphoria,” “meet the grahams” and the famous “Not Like Us.” Drake served up a second diss with “Family Matters,” but the consensus in the rap community was that Lamar came out victorious. 

I know, I know, the timeline of all this is confusing and even I have to occasionally look back and refresh myself on which songs led to others and ultimately landed us here. Essentially, all you need to know is that after trading blows for 12 months, Lamar landing the Super Bowl halftime show seals the deal on this beef.

Drake will be on the couch at home while Lamar’s diss track rings out for millions to hear. To add insult to injury, in an ad announcing Lamar as the halftime performer for this season’s Super Bowl, the rapper threw in “There’s only one opportunity to win the championship. No Round 2s.” 

On the surface this sounds like a motivational tagline pertaining to the magnitude of the Super Bowl, but Lamar was actually taking a quick jab at Drake after the OVO rapper posted back in August that he had “Won Round 2” — as if his beef with Lamar had rounds.

Lamar set the record straight in his ad; he won the one and only round between him and Drake, and when the spotlight falls down on him in New Orleans everyone will know the beef is settled.

Drake isn’t the only one being beat down by this rap beef. The face of New Orleans rap, Lil Wayne, may have drawn the shortest straw of them all. Without Drake and Lamar’s beef, it would have almost been a no-brainer for the Louisiana legend to perform in front of his hometown crowd.

“Not Like Us” has garnered over 780 million streams on Spotify alone, and Lamar hasn’t left the headlines since this feud began which really left Lil Wayne with no chance to land the halftime gig. The decision has left both fans and artists in the rap industry torn.

The New Orleans native likely would have had artists like Nicki Minaj, Birdman and Drake make appearances, but Lamar has undoubtedly been the biggest name in rap this year — and for quite some time now when you look past the recent beef with Drake.

And with each point that I bring up, we can go down another rabbit hole. Some of those same fans and rappers that feel torn about the situation, believe there is far more to the decision than just Lamar being the hottest name in rap.

Jay Z, a New York rap juggernaut and one of the most powerful artists in the music industry, has helped organize the halftime show since 2020. Now five years later, Jay Z has a significant amount of say as to who will be on that stage in February and his disliking for Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Drake gives fans good reason to believe that he wanted nothing to do with Lil Wayne headlining one of the most important shows of the year — even if it’s in his hometown. 

What is typically an exciting time for both music and sports has been nothing but chaos, and it all started when one Canadian rapper — who happens to be one of the most influential artists of all time — said he was as big as the Super Bowl. Now his arch nemesis, a hard-nosed rapper from the streets of Compton who embodies everything that Drake isn’t, will show America who really is as big as the Super Bowl. 

Lamar will likely put the nail in Drake’s coffin, and pour salt in the wound of New Orleans’ biggest name as Wayne watches from the sideline at what should have been his show. Oh, and it’s only Week 3 of the NFL. Buckle up, I’ll see you in February.