Grammy Award winner Kendrick Lamar performed at halftime of Super Bowl 58 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game was between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles ended up winning in a near blowout with a score of 40-22.

  This performance exceeded a current viewership of 100 million. With Lamar’s unique rapping style, this will bring record sales to the rap genre as a whole.

  However, this is not his first Super Bowl. He was featured with headliners Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, and 50 Cent in Super Bowl 56.

  Kenrick Lamar released his debut album “Section 80” in 2011. After this release he was considered a famous rapper, however his fame did not reach mainstream media until the next year with the release of “Good Kid M.a.a.d City”. His fame skyrocketed with songs such as “Poetic Justice” and “Money Trees”.

  Kendrick Lamar and famous rapper Drake are “beefing.” This defines the hip-hop/rap genre as it is part of the culture. The beef started with Kendrick’s release of “Like That.” In the song, Lamar continuously throws shots at Drake. Again Kendrick releases “Euphoria” hoping to get a reaction out of the rapper. 

  The hip-hop community was pressuring Drake to respond and he eventually did with “Family Matters.” Kendrick then responded with number one Billboard Hot 100 “Not Like Us.” This substantially grew his fame. 

  Kendrick wasn’t the only performer during halftime. He was joined by singer/songwriter R&B artist SZA. This wasn’t the first time the two have worked together with songs like “All The Stars” and “30 for 30.” 

  SZA has recently released her new album “SOS Deluxe: LANA” with features including Kendrick Lamar, Lil Yachty, and Benny Blanco. She sold 178,000 album units in the first week.

  This halftime performance was projected to be the biggest Super Bowl in history with such high expectations.

  Personally, I think the halftime show was a success. Kendrick performed triple platinum “HUMBLE” which got the crowd going. One of the most striking images from the performance was Lamar surrounded by Black dancers dressed in red, white and blue to resemble the American flag. This performance was targeted towards the younger generation. Many of the older generation were not informed of Kendrick Lamar prior to the performance. Did you watch this year’s Super Bowl?