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Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was one for the ages as it tackled the social political climate in the United States today while continuing to throw dirt on the grave where Drake’s popularity currently lies, and while most of the culture was able to pick up on the symbolism and metaphors that the show presented, a lot of viewers simply didn’t.
Unfortunately, it seems like NBA superstar and future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant was one of those viewers who allegedly didn’t comprehend what Kendrick Lamar was telling the masses and dismissed the entire Super Bowl as “boring.” This past Monday (Feb. 10), Dana Scott of The Arizona Republic asked the Slim Reaper about his opinion on K. Dot’s Super Bowl Halftime Show and his performance of “Not Like Us” and without batting an eye KD simply shook his head and responded with “Meant nothing to me.”
Scott then brought up Durant’s previous statement in which he said Drake was “great,” as the reasoning behind his question about his thoughts on Kendrick’s performance. Durant went on to say “No thoughts. I ain’t really pay attention to it to be honest. It was a pretty boring game as far as the Super Bowl… The game got outta hand. The Super Bowl Halftime Show it was just… I ain’t pay attention to it. I kinda skimmed through the whole thing to be honest.”
KD just made Drake happy with that response.
https://x.com/iam_DanaScott/status/1889066473517412814
Still, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone as Kevin Durant and Drake do seem to have some history together as Drizzy has name dropped Kevin Durant in one of his past songs, “No Face.”
https://x.com/ComplexMusic/status/1827123996682547316
KD for his part has also showed love to Drizzy on his social media account, so y’all already know the man isn’t going to join in on the bashing of Drake regardless of what he may think of the situation.
https://x.com/realalmightee/status/1861490029303832813
Well, at least Drake does have a few loyal friends left in the game.
What do y’all think about Kevin Durant’s response to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Kendrick Lamar and his current status in the industry is no longer a mystery after taking home several Grammy Awards trophies on the back of his smash “Not Like Us” single. While performing the hit at the halftime show during Super Bowl LIX, Kendrick Lamar’s grin and stare during the “Say Drake” line is currently getting the meme treatment on X.
The grand spectacle of the Super Bowl LIX halftime show is still front of mind for many some two days later. Featuring Samuel L. Jackson in the role of Uncle Sam, a C-walking Serena Williams, and vocal features from SZA, the production was amazing and Kendrick Lamar sounded in tip-top shape. During the set, Lamar teased “Not Like Us” and even mentioned Drake’s reported legal moves in getting the song shut down alleging baked numbers and other unfavorable maneuvers by UMG.
The next to last song in his set, “Not Like Us” got the requisite reaction from the crowd after it appeared it wouldn’t happen. With the crowd rapping almost in unison, Lamar rapped into the camera the lyrics that started the latest meme trend on X.
From “Not Like Us”:
Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young
You better not ever go to cell block one
To any b*tch that talk to him and they in love
Just make sure you hide your lil sister from him
With the moment now frozen in time, fans on X are sharing gifs and memes captioned “Say Drake” along with taking other shots at the Canadian superstar, who is currently on his Anita Max tour in Australia and New Zealand.
During the tour, Drizzy seemingly acknowledged the aftermath of the beef, donning a hoodie riddled with bullet holes and engineered smoke coming from said holes to signify all the damage he took during the battle with Kendrick Lamar.
On X, Drake’s name is trending mentioning Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl jab and more. Check out those reactions below.
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Yes, you read that right.
Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show was hands down one of the Blackest moments of 2025. In just 13 minutes, he flipped Gil Scott-Heron’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, seemingly took aim at Trump, and delivered a powerful American story—all while throwing lyrical haymakers at Drake.
Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
The Black Pride and Political Messaging
Let’s start with the deeper themes. The entire performance felt like a message to Drake, but it also paid homage to Spike Lee’s Bamboozled. Samuel L. Jackson, playing the role of Uncle Sam, wasn’t just a jab at Drake and the industry—it was also a shot at the executives and critics who wanted Kendrick to dial down his relentless lyrical assault on Drizzy. It even took aim at those who dismissed Lamar as doing Civil Rights Rap—as if calling out injustice is a bad thing.
Jackson’s narration made that clear when he introduced Lamar saying, “It’s your Uncle…Sam, and this is the great American game.” The line exposed how America polices Black artistic expression, punctuated by Jackson’s follow-up: “Too ghetto”—right before his mic was cut.
The symbolism didn’t stop there. The American flag served as a double entendre: a reminder that the country was built on the backs of enslaved Black people, but also a critique of how racism continues to divide. Lamar’s dancers even wore outfits reminiscent of The Mau Maus, the militant culture purists in the film Bamboozled, underscoring his message about protecting Black culture from exploitation.
Then came the “Not Like Us” moment. Looking his dancers dead in the eye, Lamar declared: “This is bigger than the music.” Highlighting the phrase—40 acres and a mule—refers to the unfulfilled reparations promise from 1865, a theme Lamar has touched on before in To Pimp a Butterfly. In the song “Wesley’s Theory,” he rapped about the illusion of prosperity for Black Americans: “What, you want you a house or a car? / Forty acres and a mule, a piano, a guitar?” By bringing it to the Super Bowl stage, he made it clear: the fight for equity isn’t over—especially in his home state of California, where reparations debates are ongoing—hence the sign in the crowd saying “wrong way” because he was speaking up in a sanitized forum.
WARNING WRONG WAY! Nothing but respect for Kendrick 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/hnxCXlIr8C
— ECP408 (@ecp408) February 10, 2025
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The Direct Shots at Drake
Now Let’s discuss the direct jabs at Drake.
During the performance, Lamar teased the crowd with the possibility of performing his Drake diss and L.A. anthem, “Not Like Us.”
“I want to play their favorite song, but you know they love to sue,” he quipped, referencing Drake’s defamation lawsuit. As the beat dropped, Lamar flashed a sly smile and rapped, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young,” before letting the audience complete the lawsuit-inspiring line—”certified pedophile.” The litigious remark comes after Drake took his issues with “Not Like Us” to court, in January filing a federal lawsuit against Universal Music Group over the diss track that accuses him of being a pedophile, allegedly.
Midway through, Lamar locked eyes with the camera and dropped another bombshell: “They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.” The line was widely seen as a response to Drake’s lawsuit against Universal Music Group, which accuses the label of helping spread the allegations fueling “Not Like Us.” With that one line, Lamar dismissed both the lawsuit and any industry attempts to undermine his influence.
The Subtle (and Not-So-Subtle) Jabs
Despite its deep cultural messaging, Lamar’s performance was full of layered shots, including the set designed as a giant PlayStation controller—pointing to Sony, the parent company of Drake’s label, OVO as he was literally controlling the narrative while fueling conspiracy theories about hidden messages.
And then there was Serena Williams. The tennis legend hit the C-walk on the X button to “Not Like Us”—a callback to the backlash she faced for using the dance to celebrate her Olympic gold medal win in 2012. This wasn’t just shade at Drake, but also a broader message about respectability politics and Black joy being policed.
Lamar closed with an electrifying performance of “tv off” with DJ Mustard, bringing the show full circle. The track’s message? Stop getting distracted—wake up to reality. And, of course, it doubled as a parting shot at Drake and J. Cole’s “First Person Shooter,” proving once again that Lamar plays the biggest game of all.
The Bigger Picture
Before the big night, Lamar told Apple Music that his performance would be culturally significant and an evolution of everything he’s done before. He wasn’t lying. The internet is still dissecting every line, every symbol, every move. But as Jay-Z said back in 2001, “You fools don’t listen to music, you just skim through it.”
Kendrick wasn’t just putting on a show. He was making history.
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*Respectfully.
This year’s Super Bowl has made television history, with the broadcast setting a ratings record for the second year in a row.
According to FoxSports, an average of 126 million viewers tuned in to watch their broadcast on Sunday (Feb. 9), which saw the Philadelphia Eagles emerge victorious over the Kansas City Chiefs with a final score of 40 to 22. According to the network, those figures measure viewers across Fox, Fox Deportes, Tubi, Telemundo and NFL digital properties.
That number is a 2% increase on the 123.7 million viewers who watched last year’s event, which outshone any audience previously recorded by Nielsen. Fox also noted that their peak audience of 135.7 million viewers occurred around the game’s second quarter, between 8:00-8:15pm ET.
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Though the evening’s big takeaway was undoubtedly related to the game itself, a sizable portion of the Super Bowl’s viewership likely came thanks to the halftime show, which featured Kendrick Lamar in the spotlight.
Trending on Billboard
Much of the discourse relating to Lamar’s appearance revolved around the potential content of his performance – specifically whether he would perform his Drake diss track “Not Like Us”.
Having inspired a defamation lawsuit from its subject matter against Lamar (and Drake’s) record label, Universal Music Group in January, and having taken home five Grammys (including Record of the Year and Song of the Year) just a week earlier, Lamar ensured that the song received pride of place in his already-iconic set. Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, and Serena Williams also joined Lamar onstage for the performance at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome.
Currently, specific break-out numbers for the halftime show have not been made available, though it would likely be in contention for the title of the most-watched halftime show in history. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that honor belongs to the 1993 Super Bowl, which saw Michael Jackson change the face of halftime entertainment, bringing in 133 million viewers for his appearance.
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DJ Khaled is currently preparing to release his 14th studio album, Aalam Of God, which fans can expect will be packed with features from the We The Best honcho’s high-profile friends. Drake, a frequent collaborator of DJ Khaled’s, looked to be a part of the album’s plans but it appears that things are on hold for now.
On Wednesday (Feb. 6), DJ Khaled shared a trailer to announce the coming of Aalam Of God with actor Mark Wahlberg. The trailer was framed as fans trying to take the project for themselves because of a pair of Drake features. Taking to Instagram, Drizzy shot down his appearance on Aalam Of God, writing, “Must be @drakebell,” referencing former Nickelodeon actor Drake Bell.
After that missive, Khaled took down the trailer and all signs are pointing to the OVO Sound honcho pulling the plug and no longer featuring on the project. Of course, this could all be part of the album’s rollout but the “I’m On One” rapper has been clear in recent social media posts and freestyle leaks that his circle is no longer as wide as it was before.
Do you think Drake is firing shots at DJ Khaled and pulling his features from Aalam Of God? Let us know via our social media pages or in the comments section.
[h/t @Kurrco]
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Source: Noel Vasquez / Getty / LeBron James
LeBron James seemingly had the perfect response to Drake following the rapper’s light jab at him during his first show on his Australian tour.
On Wednesday, LeBron James took to Instagram to express his excitement for Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performance.
James shared a clip of an old K.Dot performance that was part of Dr. Dre’s epic medley during 2022’s star-studded Super Bowl Halftime show performance.
“He gone kill that [poo emoji]!!!! Can’t wait *Bart Scott voice,” Luka Doncic’s new running mate said in his Instagram Stories post.
Usually, this wouldn’t mean anything, but now it’s part of the ongoing battle between Drizzy and Lamar. Drizzy is still licking his wounds after “Not Like Us” has declared that anyone who rocked with Lamar and bopped to the Grammy-winning diss record is an enemy, including those he once considered friends like James.
Drake Has Been Taking Numerous Shots At LeBron James
Drake has been taking shots at LeBron James. During the opening night of this Anita Max Win Tour, the Six God changed the lyrics of his song “Nonstop.” In the original lyrics, Drake raps, “How did I go from 6 to 23 like I’m LeBron?”
During his performance on the Anita Max Tour, he switched the lyrics to criticize Bron, rapping, “How I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron, man?”
This was not the only time Drizzy expressed his distaste for James. In his song “Fighting Irish Freestyle,” the Canadian Hip-Hop star seemingly criticized the Los Angeles Lakers superstar and DeMar DeRozan for attending Lamar’s epic Pop Out concert.
Fighting Irish is a nod to LBJ’s high school basketball team.
“The world fell in love with the gimmicks, even my brothers got tickets / Seemed like they loved every minute / Just know this shit is personal to us, and it wasn’t just business.”
James tried to show no love lost on his end, rocking a pair of The Boy’s Nike Air Force One sneakers with “Love you forever” etched on them, adding the infinity emoji to the post.
Meanwhile, Drake is still big mad and recently rocked a bullet hole-filled hoodie to signify all the shots he took and that he’s still here despite the “Not Like Us” kill shot.
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Kendrick Lamar, fresh from hauling in five trophies at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, with his scathing Drake diss “Not Like Us,” notching two big awards for the night. According to reports, the Compton lyricist has handed in his Super Bowl Halftime Show set list as the NFL and censors mull over the inclusion of the track.
According to a report from TMZ, Kendrick Lamar put the finishing touches on his set for the halftime show at Super Bowl LIX, which takes place this weekend in New Orleans. As we mentioned above, “Not Like Us” won Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year Grammys, solidifying the cultural and commercial impact of the song that many believe toppled Drake’s crown.
With the outlet stating that K-Dot turned in his list to the NFL, FOX network leadership, and all related legal parties involved, it’s assumed that the league doesn’t want to risk getting in hot water as Drake has an open defamation lawsuit filed against Universal Music Group over claims they platformed the smash single which takes some sharp digs at the Canadian superstar’s character in ways never heard before on wax.
TMZ added in their reporting that the NFL and all of the connected brass will check out the setlist and go over the lyrics with their legal teams. The idea is to make sure Lamar doesn’t say anything that’ll get them flagged by the FCC, and the independent government agency will certainly have their work cut out for them considering that one line that truly goes there.
Kendrick Lamar invited his former TDE labelmate SZA to join him onstage for the big event.
Super Bowl LIX airs on Sunday, Nov. 9.
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Source: Cole Burston / Getty / Drake
Drake still feels a way about everyone realizing he got his a** handed to him by Kendrick Lamar.
Not feeling the love stateside, Drake took his OVO Force 1 to Australia, where he is currently on his Anita Max Win Tour, showing his Australian fans some love because he hasn’t been down under in years.
Initially, Drake was supposed only to do seven shows, but due to popular demand, The Boy hiked that number up to 16 and will see him hit the stage in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Auckland.
On night one, Drizzy has folks talking because of the interesting way he decided to address the massive elephant in the room, his battle with Kendrick Lamar, who is coming off an epic night at the Grammys where he swept, winning all categories he was nominated, including Song of The Year and Record of The Year for what many are calling the greatest diss record of all time, “Not Like Us.”
The “God’s Plan” crafter stuck to his concert formula of walking through the crowd to begin the show, but this time, he wore a bullet hole-riddled hoodie that hilariously was emitting smoke from the back, signifying all the shots he took, but also adding that he’s still here, while walking out to “Over My Dead Body.”
By the end of his performance, Drake reminded everyone who he was and that he was still alive despite Kendrick Lamar bodying him. “My name is Drake. I started doing music in 2008. I come all the way from Toronto, Canada. The year is now 2025, and no matter what, Drizzy Drake is very much alive.”
Drake Is Still Salty About LeBron James Attending The “Pop Out”
During his performance, Drake also let us know he is still very salty about LeBron James being at Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert and professing his love for “Not Like Us” during the Paris Olympics.
While performing “Nonstop,” Drake changed the lyrics, “How I go from 6 to 23 but not LeBron, man.”
We are sure Drizzy will take more pot shots during his tour, until then you can see reactions to this stunt in the gallery below.
2. Pretty Much
4. Pretty Much
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Drake and PartyNextDoor have officially announced their long-awaited collaborative album, ‘$ome $exy $ongs 4 U’ set to drop on Valentine’s Day. This marks a huge moment for fans who’ve been eagerly awaiting a full project from the two, a duo with a longstanding history of collaboration and mutual respect. The anticipation goes all the way back to 2014 when PartyNextDoor first made waves with his debut project P1, which featured Drake on the track “Over Here,” delivering one of his most memorable verses. From that point on, Drake has been a constant presence in Party’s career, appearing on every single one of his projects and often singing his praises as one of his favorite artists.
Partynextdoor, signed to Drake’s OVO Sound label, has not only built a successful solo career but also contributed behind the scenes, notably penning Rihanna’s smash hit “Work.” A reference track from that era even leaked, with Party’s vocals sounding just as smooth as the final version. Further fueling the excitement, fans have long speculated that Party contributed heavily to tracks on Drake’s ‘If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late’—with some even uncovering a leaked reference for the intro “Legend” where PX was singing.
Given their chemistry both in the studio and behind the scenes, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U is bound to be a project that will reward fans who’ve been patiently waiting for years. With a mix of catchy hooks and sultry vibes, this Valentine’s Day release is set to be one for the books.
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Dr. Dre has served as a mentor to Kendrick Lamar and has intimate knowledge of his fellow Compton native’s mindset as a rapper and lyricist. In a recent audio series, Dr. Dre pinpointed where Drake miscalculated his shots toward Kendrick Lamar, culminating in one of the largest landslides in Hip-Hop battle history.
Via the new Audible original series, The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell, Dr. Dre shared his thoughts with the pair regarding the fervor surrounding the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef and how it went left rather swiftly. According to the superstar producer, Drake’s digs at Lamar’s wife and family were the last straw.
At one point in the conversation, as Billboard notes, Barris turned the conversation toward “Not Like Us” and how it instilled pride in him as a Los Angeles native. Dre chimed in and shared his thoughts on the impact of the record and what inspired it.
“I love that record. I’ma say this on camera. I don’t want to get negative,” Dr. Dre said My whole sh*t is about being positive and moving forward and all that sh*t, but the fact I heard Drake say something negative about Kendrick’s wife and his kids, that made me say, ‘Ah, adios!’”
The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell debuted on Jan. 30 and the series has a wide slate of guests planned such as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Ava DuVernay, Sue Bird, and more. They even turn the questions on themselves to discuss careers with Gladwell a notable author and Barris as a producer and director.
Check out the series here.
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