"Who the hell is Kendrick Lamar?" 

It's probably one of the biggest questions I saw floating around last night, and even today. As people go back over the events at the Super Bowl, a great deal of America seemed to think the halftime show was a dud. People don't seem to know who Kendrick Lamar, the rapper who took the stage last night, actually is. Many had never heard of him, and this inevitably leads to reminiscing about past halftime shows that actually knocked it out of the park.  

Remember the halftime show Prince put on back in 2007? Everyone else seems to be remembering it now. 

Prince still has the greatest super bowl halftime show and it isn’t even close. pic.twitter.com/MDjlcj3GO0

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) February 10, 2025

I don't blame people for wanting something of this caliber. It was an incredible show, but it needs to be understood that 2007 and 2025 are night and day, and I don't just mean culturally. The business landscape has radically changed, and the way we consume music is a different beast. This is largely why you didn't see a mainstream artist with wider appeal on the stage and got someone who is a bit more niche, though I'm using the term "niche" here lightly. 

Let's take it from the top. 

Back in 2019, Jay-Z's company "Roc Nation" signed a deal with the NFL to curate its halftime shows. Jay-Z's aim was to introduce hip-hop and rap to the masses via America's largest sporting event, and the NFL wanted to prove it's all about racial diversity and inclusion.

As such, you've seen far more hip-hop and R&B artists taking the spots since. You've likely noticed it, too, and looking back, you can see Roc Nation's influence on the lineups. This includes Shakira & J.Lo (2020), The Weeknd (2021), Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige (2022), Rihanna (2023), and Usher (2024).

Lamar actually appeared in the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show before as well, though, at the time, he was still a rising star in the hip-hop community, and the greater population had never heard of him. 

Now, it's true that Lamar isn't necessarily a household name in America in the same way someone like Prince used to be, but he is by enough people in Millennial and Gen-Z circles. Lamar is one of the most streamed musicians in America, and his music is often considered deep with layers of meaning. In the hip-hop community, he's considered a generational talent. 

His influence is growing to such an extent that when he has beef with other rappers, including those who are far more famous than him in mainstream consciousness, they lose when diss tracks are inevitably released. If you watched the halftime show during Sunday night's Super Bowl, you actually heard the one he made against Drake called "Not Like Us," where he calls the rapper out for being a pedophile. In fact, he had to censor his own lyrics last night because the song doesn't hold back on Drake for his proclivities. 

With someone becoming a rising star so fast, Jay-Z wants to keep someone that influential close and friendly. In hip-hop, reputation is damn near everything, and when your circle is highly influential, money and power are easy to come by. 

More than that, it has to be understood that the goal of the Super Bowl halftime show isn't to appeal to the largest amount of fans, at least not anymore. Entertaining the country is actually a secondary, if not tertiary, objective at this point. The real goal is to maintain the attention of younger generations, who will go and stream the music they heard and see what everyone is talking about. This means the streaming services, such as Apple Music (which is a halftime show sponsor), get to watch as people flood their music service, resulting in money. 

Since Lamar is so culturally relevant and influential, the chances of his music being streamed repeatedly go up, resulting in more money. You wouldn't get this same financial response if you were to bring in someone far more widely known yet not as culturally relevant as, say, George Strait or The Rolling Stones. This seems counter-intuitive, but again, the consumption landscape for music is far different from what it used to be, and the primary consumers are younger generations. 

The most listened-to genre among those generations is hip-hop (it's actually the most listened-to genre in America), and when you pair all that info up, Lamar becomes a no-brainer for a halftime show choice. 

- Kendrick Lamar is a star rocketing to the top

- He's celebrated for his talent in influential circles

- He's nested in the most financially successful musical genre of today

- Record companies want to be his best friend for the influence and star power

- The NFL loves that his star power will prove they aren't racist

- Corporations love that he has the ability to get the kids listening on repeat

Kendrick Lamar is a high-percentage choice for financial success. It's not necessarily about entertaining the largest pool of people; it's raking in the largest pool of cash for the people running the show. 

So there you have it. That's why Lamar was chosen over someone who is recognized by a wider pool of people. A lot of it boiled down to money and influencing the youth to consume. 

As someone who doesn't listen to a lot of hip-hop, I can't actually judge if Lamar is as good as people say. He very well might be. I'm more of a Lord Huron or The Midnight kind of guy myself, but as an older millennial, I also don't fall into the category these moguls are appealing to. 

If you were confused, be confused no longer. Hopefully, this explanation helped. 

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