It's official. Kendrick Lamar will headline the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show in New Orleans. However, the announcement has ruffled the feathers of some fans and rappers who believe that the correct choice should have been Lil Wayne since he is from the Big Easy. Despite the opposition, it is clear that the right choice was made.
Why Kendrick Lamar is the right choice for Super Bowl LIX
Kendrick Lamar, like Lil Wayne, has had a legendary rap career. Despite not releasing an album this year, Dot's 2024 lineup will go down in history. His rap battle with Drake was hip-hop's biggest moment of the year and led to two No. 1 songs for the Compton, California rapper. “Like That” featuring Future and Metro Boomin and Drake dissing “Not Like Us.” K-Dot's The Pop Out concert in June was another epic moment for rap. Basically, all eyes have been on Kendrick for the better part of the year. And they will continue to circulate with rumors that he is preparing a new album.
On the other hand, despite dropping some well-received features, Lil Wayne has mostly stagnated in 2024, rap-wise. After all, he revealed it recently Carter VI is complete, There was little noise on the music front.
Also, Kendrick Lamar is universally a safer choice. As evidenced most recently by The Big Steppers' massive, record-breaking 2023 tour, Kendrick excels in the live arena. And his catalog has more universal appeal to the Super Bowl-watching audience.
Lil Wayne has an extensive catalog. However, he doesn't have the most stellar track record when it comes to live performances. He has a history of his gigs going left as well as backstage horror stories.
Artistic director Shaun Harrison recently opened up about his bad experience working with Wayne at a Grammy show and said that putting Wayne as the headliner for the Super Bowl would be the “biggest mistake ever.”
Others cited Lil Wayne's lyrics, which include more lines about drug use and hardcore content, as a reason to choose Kendrick over Tunechi. Then there's the fact that Lil Wayne himself has admitted many times that he can't remember the lyrics to his songs.
Could Wayne put it all together for a live set on the world's biggest stage? Sure. But is Kendrick a safer bet? Absolutely. This is the Super Bowl. Billions of dollars are involved. And companies tend to want to play it safe.
Read more: 13 Best Hip-Hop Halftime Shows
The location doesn't matter
It seems like most of the upset about Wayne not headlining the Big Game is because it takes place in NO. However, the idea that Lil Wayne should automatically get the nod because he's a New Orleans native would be more precedent than anything. thing that happened in the past. In addition to the performance of Dr. Dre's Super Bowl in Los Angeles in 2022, no previous performer has graced the home city of the big game.
No doubt, the sentimental choice would be Lil Wayne, but the correct choice for the 2025 Super Bowl is K-Dot.
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Check out 50 surprising facts about Kendrick Lamar
K-Dot fans, this one's for you.
