KENDRICK Lamar is pumped for the Super Bowl – and cannot wait to keep on “crushing” rap rival Drake.
Fresh from winning five Grammys for red-hot Drake diss track Not Like Us, the all-conquering star heads to New Orleans this weekend to headline the half-time show.
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SONG STORM
The tune – which mocks the Canadian superstar and accuses him of being a pedophile – won gongs for best music video, rap song, rap performance, song, and record of the year last Sunday night.
It came just weeks after Drake dropped a bombshell by slapping his label – and Kendrick’s – Universal Music Group with a defamation lawsuit over the track.
But all eyes are now on Kendrick, who, according to our insiders, is gearing up to perform his mega-hit — already streamed over a billion times on Spotify—during the halftime show at the Caesars Superdome this Sunday.
The U.S. Sun has already revealed there is nothing legally stopping him dropping the song at the Caesars Superdome.
Read more on the Super Bowl
Sources close to Kendrick had been begging him to ditch the song from his setlist, warning it could spark a firestorm of controversy at the NFL’s biggest stage.
But two well-placed pals close to the new King of Rap claim that after scoring so many honors in Los Angeles at the Grammys, he’s not budging.
The 37-year-old hitmaker is determined to bring the track to the iconic halftime show, no matter the backlash.
A Kendrick source has told The U.S. Sun that his friend is “f****ing pumped” for the Super Bowl after landing Grammy’s glory.
He stressed that the rapper “cannot wait” to drop the controversial track, which includes the bombshell lyrics: “Certified Lover Boy, certified pedophile / Say, Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one / Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-minor.”
The melody was used in the build-up to the showpiece event on the NFL Network channel, and the insider said that following his sensational triumph, he now has the “green light” to do whatever he wants.
“Kendrick was a bit surprised about the Grammys, but that tells him that he is on top of his art, and that gives him even more freedom and makes him even more legitimate to do whatever he wants,” the source told The U.S. Sun.
“He wants to put the cherry on top of the cake with this song to give even more power to his feud with Drake and show who is the game’s boss now.”
STORM BREWING
Our insider continued, “Having the backing of his industry peers and fans has made him feel untouchable.
“If I were Drake, I would be worried and uncomfortable about it at all.”
The only thing that could potenially stop Kendrick now is the NFL and network lawyers once they weigh in on whether using the song in his set could get them in hot water with the FCC.
The set list was handed over on Wednesday, according for TMZ, for them to make their final judgement.
The fact that SZA, a former girlfriend of Drake’s, is Kendrick’s special guest in New Orleans fans the flames of discontent even more.
Drake has unleashed legal fury against Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing the label of trying to brand him as a “criminal pedophile” in a twisted smear campaign to ignite public outrage—and even encourage vigilante justice—in order to get more song plays.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Gunfire erupted outside Drake’s Toronto mega-mansion just hours after the diss track’s release on May 7.
Court docs obtained by MailOnline revealed that a car rolled up to the mansion, and someone yelled, “Fk Drake!”**, and then bullets flew, hitting a security guard and tearing through the front gate and door of the rapper’s luxury pad.
Kendrick is killing Drake softly with this song and his music.
Music industry source who’s close to Kendrick Lamar
SHOCKING SCENES
Miraculously, the guard survived, but the shooter vanished.
Then, in a scene straight out of a thriller, an intruder tried digging under Drake’s security fence the next night—screaming racial slurs.
And just when it couldn’t get crazier, a third attempt followed the next evening.
Adding further vitriol, the lawsuit alleges the track’s cover art features Drake’s mansion with markers that supposedly represent registered sex offenders.
But UMG isn’t backing down.
DRAKE & KENDRICK FEUD TIMELINE
On October 6, 2023, Drake and J. Cole released First Person Shooter, in which J. Cole claimed that himself, Drake, and Kendrick are the “big three” of hip-hop.
On March 22, 2024, Kendrick responded to the claim of a “big three” in his verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s song Like That, where he instead stated, “It’s just big me,” and accused both rappers of sneak dissing.
On April 5, 2024, J. Cole dropped his Kendrick diss track, 7 Minute Drill, in which he fired “warning shots” at the rapper as he accused the good kid, m.A.A.d city artist of seeking “attention” and slammed his latest music releases as “tragic.”
But on April 7, 2024, two days after releasing the Kendrick diss, J. Cole retracted his statement and backed out of the feud, as he stated he felt pressured to respond because “the world wanna see blood.”
On April 13, 2024, Drake responded to Kendrick with Push Ups, which had lyrics ridiculing Kendrick’s height and his mainstream collaborations with Taylor Swift and Maroon 5.
The track also dissed rappers Future and Rick Ross and producer Metro Boomin.
On April 19, 2024, Drake dropped another diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle, that used AI-generated voices of Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur to pressure Kendrick to respond.
On April 30, 2024, Kendrick dropped Euphoria, a six-minute diss track, in which he criticized Drake’s biracial identity, questioned the rapper’s ability as a father, and claimed that Drake is a “scam artist.”
On May 1, 2024, Drake responded to Kendrick’s diss by posting a clip from the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You on his Instagram Story in which Julia Stiles’ character Kat lists the reasons she hates Heath Ledger’s character Patrick – mirroring a Euphoria bar where Lamar provides reasons he hates Drake.
On May 3, 2024, Kendrick dropped a second Drake diss track, 6:16 in LA in which Kendrick alleges Drake’s own team is working against him as he rapped, “Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it,” and stated Drake “can’t Toosie Slide up out of this one.”
After Drake responded with his diss track Family Matters, where he called accused Kendrick of infidelity, the Humble hitmaker would release Meet the Grahams, his fourth diss track against the Canadian rapper.
The label blasted the lawsuit, calling it “ridiculous” and pointing out that Drake has profited off rap battles for years.
As revealed by The U.S. Sun, Kendrick “doesn’t give a damn,” while UMG said, “Not only are these claims completely false, but the idea that we’d try to damage Drake’s reputation is beyond absurd. Why would we harm one of the biggest artists in the game?”
POPULARITY CONTEST
Kendrick fancies his chances of dominating the bitter battle on stage – and online.
According to digital advertising company GumGum, Lamar leads with 5,735 page mentions, compared to Drake’s 1,072.
Their rivalry generates more buzz than several past performers: Dr. Dre: 1,590 mentions, Rihanna: 1,442 mentions, Beyoncé: 1,235 mentions Mary J. Blige: 1,189 mentions.
“Drake does not have A Minor presence in Super Bowl discussions online, reflecting how prominent the rivalry with Kendrick has become,” said Kayla Smalls, Senior Corporate Communications Manager at GumGum.
“However, between sweeping at the Grammys with his diss track and performing on a global stage, it’s clear Kendrick is winning this digital and real-life battle.”
Their beef kicked off last March when Kendrick came out swinging, ruthlessly dissing Drake and J. Cole on Metro Boomin’s track Like That.
But Drake wasn’t about to roll over.
The Toronto megastar clapped back twice as hard, dropping not one, but two diss tracks—Push Ups and Taylor Made Freestyle—proving he was ready for a fight.
Kendrick, however, just kept going. He fired back with venom, unleashing Euphoria and 6:16 in LA, where he went straight for the jugular — calling out Drake’s parenting and accusing him of getting plastic surgery.
Drake then escalated the battle with Family Matters, a nearly eight-minute mic drop accusing Lamar’s manager, Dave Free, of fathering his child.
Yet just 24 hours later, Not Like Us hit the airwaves.
Now that he’s earned success at the Grammys, however, Kendrick has plenty of ” fuel in the engine” to keep the feud raging.
“He is killing Drake softly with this song and his music,” added a music industry veteran who has worked with Kendrick on some of his previous albums.
“That sends a message that you can’t mess with me and not pay the consequences. Drake can cry as much as he wants, but Kendrick crushes him. The Super Bowl will heap even more pressure on.”
The U.S. Sun contacted Drake’s management for comment, but they didn’t respond.
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