02/06/25 12:14:00
Printable Page
02/06 12:12 CST Kendrick Lamar vows to keep his passion for storytelling at the
Super Bowl halftime show
Kendrick Lamar vows to keep his passion for storytelling at the Super Bowl
halftime show
By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr.
AP Entertainment Writer
NEW ORLEANS (AP) --- Kendrick Lamar aims to infuse his Los Angeles hip-hop
flavor into New Orleans while staying true to his storytelling roots during
Sunday's Super Bowl halftime performance.
"Being in the now and being just locked-in to how I feel and the energy I have
now, that's the L.A. energy for me," he said Thursday at a press conference
hosted by Apple Music. "That's something I wanted to carry over to New Orleans
and for the world to see. This is me. This is Kendrick Lamar, 37 years old, and
I still feel like I'm elevating, I'm still on a journey."
The rap megastar will take the Super Bowl stage fresh off a Grammy triumph,
where he claimed two of the night's biggest awards --- song and record of the
year --- for his diss track "Not Like Us."
When asked what viewers can expect, Lamar answered: "Storytelling. I think I've
always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history
of music. And I've always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage
I'm on."
Lamar will be bringing hip-hop back to the NFL's championship game, where he
performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent
and Eminem in 2022. On Sunday, he becomes the first solo hip-hop artist to
headline the halftime show.
"It reminds me of the essence and the core response of rap and hip-hop and how
far it can go," he said. "It puts the culture at the forefront, where it needs
to be and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art
form, so to represent it on this type of stage is like everything that I've
worked for and everything that I believe in as far as the culture."
SZA will join him but few other details about the performance were revealed,
bowing to a tradition in which headliners keep their plans secret. Rihanna
waited until her Super Bowl performance in 2023 to reveal she was pregnant with
her second child.
The Super Bowl will be held Sunday at the Caesars Superdome, with the
two-defending champions Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Philadelphia
Eagles in a championship rematch.
Who else is performing at the Super Bowl?
The Super Bowl pregame will have some Louisiana flavor: Jon Batiste will hit
the stage to sing the national anthem, while Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle
are slated to perform "America the Beautiful."
Ledisi will perform " Lift Every Voice and Sing " as part of the pregame
performances.
The national anthem and "America the Beautiful" will be performed by actor
Stephanie Nogueras in American sign language. Otis Jones IV will sign "Lift
Every Voice and Sing," and the halftime show will be signed by Matt Maxey.
The pregame performers are all Louisiana natives.
___
For more on the Super Bowl, visit https://apnews.com/hub/super-bowl
|