As Kendrick Lamar prepares for his upcoming performance during the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Shoe, the Grammy winner rap star sat down with Ebro Darden and Nadeska Alexis to talk about the career high he’s been on, and of course, Sunday’s highly anticipated performance.
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Thursday, during the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show press conference, Lamar took a moment to reflect on the massive success of his Grammy-winning diss track, Not Like Us. The DJ Mustard-produced song, which was at the center of his high-profile rap battle with Drake last year, dominated the 2025 Grammys, taking home five awards, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
When asked about how it felt to see Not Like Us—a battle rap record—become a cultural anthem and an award-winning hit, Lamar made it clear that his focus has always been on the bigger picture.
“I was just thinking about the culture, really,” he said. “It’s always there for me first. When people talk about rap, the conversations I hear, they think it’s just rap and not an actual art form. So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people that this is more than just something that came 50 years ago.”
Lamar emphasized how important it is for rap music to be taken seriously, both commercially and artistically. Seeing a song rooted in the competitive spirit of hip-hop win at major award shows and dominate the charts proves just how powerful the genre remains.
“I love to see that it gets that type of recognition—from awards to the billboards—because this is truly just as big as any other genre,” he continued. “I feel accomplished being able to do that. Whether somebody else comes behind me and does it again and quadruples it, I love to see it. If that was my purpose, then that’s exactly what it was for that particular moment.”
