Why Kendrick Lamar Won’t Get Paid For The Super Bowl Halftime Show

The effects of last summer’s rap feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake continue to reverberate through the music industry, and the careers of its two combatants. Earlier this month, Drake made headlines for bringing a defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group for its role in the back-and-forth, while Lamar prepares for the biggest gig of his life—headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl LIX on February 9. It's hard to imagine how the 37-year-old Lamar, who for much of his career has been seen as a critical darling with a cult-like following, would have been chosen by halftime show executive producer Jay-Z and his Roc Nation for music’s biggest stage were it not for the beef and series of diss tracks it produced. “Not Like Us,” Lamar’s anthemic takedown of hip-hop’s best-selling artist, hit more than a billion streams on Spotify in 2024 and spent a record-setting 21 consecutive weeks atop Billboard’s hot rap songs chart. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2025/01/31/why-kendrick-lamar-wont-get-paid-for-the-super-bowl-halftime-show/ Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1 0:00 Introduction 0:40 Roc Nation & NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show Partnership: Past Guests, Beyonce, Rihanna 3:37 How Much Kendrick Lamar Is Getting Paid From The Super Bowl Halftime Show 7:43 GNX, Kendrick Lamar's New Album And Merch 9:47 Super Bowl Sunday: Kendrick Lamar and PGLang's Marketing Opportunity Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more: https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes: http://forbes.com Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.