Kendrick Lamar very much delivered with his Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show performance in New Orleans on Sunday, complete with a surprise appearance from Samuel L. Jackson. Meanwhile, Kendrick’s Grammys-sweeping “Not Like Us,” at one point the subject of lawsuit-related speculation leading up to the Big Game, got some prominent screen time during the headlining set.
Kendrick’s choice of attire, notably, featured a dazzling pendant of a lowercase “a,” which, expectedly, many fans were quick to take as a nod to a certain line on the aforementioned Drake diss.
The font choice here is also in line with the larger aesthetic favored by Kendrick and Dave Free’s pgLang company.
Shortly after halftime, celebrity jeweler Elliot Eliantte appeared to confirm that the piece in question was an example of their work, like so:
In the final moments of the first verse of “Not Like Us,” which recently took home multiple Grammys including Record of the Year, Kendrick raps, “Why you trollin' like a bitch? Ain't you tired?/Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor.”
SZA and Serena Williams also made appearances during Kendrick's set, which follows last year's Usher-led halftime performance in Paradise, Nevada. Heading into Sunday’s proceedings, “Not Like Us” was placed at the center of a defamation-alleging lawsuit from Drake. The suit does not directly accuse Kendrick of wrongdoing but instead focuses its argument on Universal Music Group, which has denied the claims as “illogical.”
“Not Like Us” was joined in Kendrick’s setlist on Sunday by “Squabble Up,” “Humble,” “TV Off,” and more. Next, Kendrick and SZA are hitting the road together for the Grand National Tour. See dates and ticket info here.
The “a” chain wasn’t the only Kendrick attire decision that spurred speculation among fans. As seen below, footage from Sunday showed Kendrick at one point wearing a t-shirt seemingly emblazoned with the phrase “Keep them away from me.”
