On Feb. 9, Kendrick Lamar will take over New Orleans to perform for the 2025 Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show. And while we know he could very well perform the entire 13-minute set by himself, he and Apple Music have already teased that he’ll be bringing along a special guest: frequent collaborator and former Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate SZA.
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This performance will serve as a precursor for their “Grand National Tour” which is set to begin in April. So, it’s in that vein, that we thought we’d make a list of folks we think might be fun additions to his already iconic set.
From jump, we have a plethora of people to choose from if we look at all the people Lamar brought out during his amazing “Pop-Out” concert on Juneteenth in 2024. That list grows even bigger when we consider the features that were present on his recently released album, “GNX.”
But the Super Bowl is a HUGE platform which means Lamar will have to be strategic in his picks. Whoever he grabs will have to toe the line of being someone who will get the crowd hype, but will also bring the authentic L.A. essence that we all love and respect him for.
So, who fits that bill, you might ask? Here’s our thoughts.
Tyler the Creator
If you witnessed the crowd reaction when Tyler the Creator “popped out” at Lamar’s Juneteenth concert, then you already know why he’s at the top of the list. And if you noticed the marching people off in the cut in the aforementioned announcement, then you’d probably draw the comparison to that and Tyler’s marching men that he’s been featuring in nearly all of his “Chromakopia” album videos. All of this coupled with the fact that Tyler declared himself “the biggest out the city after Kenny” on the same album only does more to convince us that we might get a Tyler sighting next month.
Jay Rock
Bringing out Jay Rock will not only be a solid homage to Lamar’s time as a member of Black Hippy, but it will give us all that chance to get hype to one of their best collaborations: “Win.”
Dody6 and AZChike
While these two rappers may be relatively new faces to many who’d be watching, their contributions to Lamar’s “GNX” album on “Hey Now” and “Peekaboo,” respectively, have already made their names go viral on social media. It would only be right for Lamar to capitalize on the momentum and give these LA rappers more time to shine.
Schoolboy Q
Much like Jay Rock’s inclusion, adding Schoolboy Q will do well to honor Lamar’s ties to his Black Hippy days and serve as an opportunity to blast some of their best collaborations such as “Collard Greens,” “Blessed,” and more.
Doechii
Back in Oct. 2024, Lamar called the “Alligator Bites Never Heal” rapper “the hardest out.” So why wouldn’t he bring her out and give her yet another major platform to show off her talents? After all, she just won a Grammy.
Future and Metro Boomin
On the off chance that “Like That” makes it on the setlist, there’s no way Lamar would just do his verse without bringing his fellow collaborators out to do it with him. Though it’s technically not Lamar’s song, his verse served as one of the earlier starts to the entire rap beef. And it’s just a hype AF song, let’s be honest.
Baby Keem
Forget the fact that rapper Baby Keem and Lamar are cousins, their song “Family Ties” is also a song that slaps and went viral not too long after it dropped. Knowing what we know about Lamar and his affinity towards the people that helped him and the ones that he loves, it would make sense for him to want to share this moment with family.
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