It’s been settled. Multi-Grammy award-winning hip hop sensation Kendrick Lamar will take the stage at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans for the half time show. Jay-Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation, selected him for his major contributions to the music industry in the last decade, citing him as a “once-in-a-generation artist and performer.”
It’s no slight to Lil’ Wayne; the rapper, born and raised in New Orleans, had been pushing for a Super Bowl spot over the years and believed he should have been picked over Compton-raised Lamar. It’s also no slight to Toronto-native Drake, who’s been battling back and forth with Lamar over hip hop supremacy since the two went sour several years ago.
This will be the second time Kendrick performs at the Super Bowl half-time show, and the first time he does it independently. Back in 2022, he was on the big stage alongside Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem and Mary J. Blige. Although Lamar already has a suite of betting options in our Entertainment section, he’ll get plenty more Super Bowl bets as we get closer to February. Now is the time to do a bit of research to make sure you make the best Super Bowl prop bets possible.
Born and raised in Compton, California, Kendrick started rapping under the name of K-Dot until he decided that he wanted people to know who he was, prompting him to switch over to his real name.
Most of his early material was inspired by his personal experiences growing up in Compton, which was exceedingly dangerous in the ‘80s and ‘90s. As a high school student, he started recording mixtapes and in 2005, he signed with the independent record label, Top Dawg Entertainment.
Kendrick’s first studio album, Section.80 came out in 2011. The concept album covered the crack epidemic of the ‘80s, among other things, and was well received by critics, peaking at No. 113 on the US Billboard 200 despite limited promotion on behalf of the label.
His next studio album, good kid, m.A.A.d City, had a number of producers, including Dr. Dre, and came out a year later. This album had collaborations with other artists and included singles “The Recipe”, “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, “Backseat Freestyle”, “Poetic Justice”, and “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”. In the album, Kendrick takes you through his adolescence marred by gang activity and drug overdoses.
Studio Album No. 3, To Pimp a Butterfly came out in 2015 and reached global acclaim. This album differed from previous releases by incorporating other music styles and shifting emphasis from his personal experiences to politics and themes of institutional discrimination.
Kendrick was rocketing up the charts at this point, getting described as a saviour to hip hop. He released back-to-back albums: Damn in 2017 and Black Panther: The Album in 2018. At this point, he took a break—until 2022. That’s when Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, his fifth studio album came out, just months after he performed at the Super Bowl half-time show, emerging from the Dre Day Boxes to sing “M.A.A.D City”, before switching to “Alright”.
With every new release, Kendrick’s popularity grew. In 2024, he released GNX without any notice to fans, and it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Over the years, Kendrick has won 17 Grammy awards; his track “Humble” from the album DAMN won three and got him a Pulitzer Prize in Music. His track “The Heart Part 5” from Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers won two Grammy awards. And he’s still in the prime of his career.
In support of Kendricks’ fifth studio album, The Big Steppers Tour took him all over the world from June 2022 to March 2024. Generating $110.8 million in sales, this tour broke the record for the highest-grossing rap tour in history. Facilitated by Live Nation, the event sold 929,056 tickets for the 73 performances that started in America and finished in New Zealand. Some of these were music festival headlines and others were arena performances.
Of all the shows in The Big Steppers Tour, his hometown one at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (September 14 to 17) drew the biggest crowd of over 50,000 fans. This one had Tanne Leone and Baby Keem as openers.
That being said, his 2022 Super Bowl performance eclipsed the LA show, with 67,827 people watching in person and millions tuning in to NBC.
All of Lamar’s songs are on Spotify, including the tracks from his fourth mixtape, Overly Dedicated. His three-time Grammy winner “Humble” is the most streamed track, getting close to a million streams daily. When it was first released, it started at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually went to No. 1.
His second-most streamed song is “All the Stars” (with SZA). This one reached a mainstream audience, being on the 2018 superhero movie, Black Panther soundtrack. In 2019, it was nominated for four different Grammy awards, including Song of the Year.
Off the album To Pimp a Butterfly, “Alright” is another big one that gets over 500,000 streams daily. This chart topper was nominated for two Grammy awards, including Song of the Year and Best Music Video. The video takes place in Oakland and has lots of chaotic scenes in the interlude before the song gets going and follows Lamar driving a Camaro. The black and white esthetics make it visually appealing.
“Backseat Freestyle” from the good kid, m.A.A.d City album is a must-listen. Beginning with the line “Uh, Martin had a dream”, this one sees Kendrick revert back to the mind frame of a 16-year-old kid without a care in the world. He masterfully switches his vocals between different rhythms and speeds.
Another gem from good kid, m.A.A.d City is “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”. This one was supposed to be a collab with Lady Gaga, but the label opted to forego her parts, which included a chorus and verse. It reached No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 rankings
Kendrick and Drake, two rappers with very different backgrounds, have a lot of history. Back when Kendrick was just getting started, Drake was an established star. They started off on a good foot, with Drake helping Kendrick get recognition early in his career. In 2011, Drake invited him to feature on the song “Buried Alive Interlude” from his Take Care album.
Drake also included Kendrick and A$AP Rocky on his Club Paradise Tour in 2012, having Kendrick perform as the opener. However, it didn’t take long for Kendrick to find his own fame and spearhead a music career that was very different from Drake’s. Initially, the bond carried on, and Kendrick invited Drake to feature on his single “Poetic Justice”.
2013 marked the beginning of the rift. Kendrick released a diss track that called out several major rappers, including Drake. While the other rappers brushed it off as part of the game, Drake appeared affected. He fired back with his own diss tracks, and this carried on back and forth, fuelling what has become a feud. The insinuations became bigger and more biting as they went on.
When Drake was exposed for having ghostwriters compose his lyrics, people looked back at Kendrick’s earlier tracks and pointed out when he called out a fellow rapper for using ghostwriters.
The feud went from bad to worse. When Kendrick released “Not Like Us”, he used Drake’s name in the lyrics, suggesting pedophilia and sexual predation. At this point, Drake had a problem with Universal Music Group (UMG) which represents both artists. Drake claimed that USG artificially inflated Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” single which contained defamatory lyrics towards Drake. Drake’s lawyer has filed two legal petitions to UMG to gather appropriate information should there be a case for a lawsuit. And the saga continues.
With the surprise-release of GNX in 2024, Kendrick Lamar is set to go on his Grand National Tour to promote it, taking him through the States and into Canada for one show. The tour’s Canadian stop is in Toronto at Rogers Centre in June. Will this add to the saga? You can bet on Drake to be pictured attending the show for +400.
Another intriguing bet is for Kendrick’s opener to be “Not Like Us”—his fiercest diss track to his rival.
If you think that the feud is over or was manufactured, you may want to get in on the +10000 bet for Drake to perform a song as a surprise guest on stage with Kendrick Lamar.
Lastly, the bet with the longest odds (+15000) is for Drake to crash/invade the stage during Kendrick’s performance. This would be a wild spectacle that would turn into a major payday.
Who knows… after the Kendrick frenzy peaks at Super Bowl time, Drake may get to the end of his fuse. These crazy prop bets and more are covered in our Super Bowl betting beyond the game article. There really is something for everyone at Bodog.