The Strategy of Kendrick Lamar
By now, you’ve probably heard of Kendrick Lamar; he performed the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show and was the first solo rap artist to do so. He is also the first and (so far) only rap artist to win a Pulitzer prize.[i] And while an artist doesn’t find a much bigger stage than the Super Bowl, Lamar began his career by “ducking the spotlight.”[ii] When his song “Alright” became a popular protest anthem in 2015,[iii] Lamar often joined the protests silently and hidden by camouflage.[iv] Throughout his career, Lamar has cultivated his reputation as an artist who prides himself on his own moral authority and authenticity, often deriding those who “pander.”[v]
After he was named as the headliner for Super Bowl LIX, many began to wonder if his set would include his smash hit “Not Like Us,” a diss track that focuses its ire on Drake, another well-known artist.[vi] The song attacks Drake’s authenticity within the rap community and includes express accusations of pedophilia.[vii] The song immediately hit the Billboard Top 100, and Lamar played it in several high-profile concerts that followed.[viii] “Not Like Us” is universally viewed as the nail in the coffin of the Drake-Lamar feud, with Drake the definitive loser.[ix]
In January 2025, Drake sued Universal Music Group (UMG), a record label representing both Drake and Lamar, accusing UMG of knowingly promoting a song that defamed Drake.[x] That same month, “Not Like Us” hit one billion Spotify streams.[xi] And then Lamar won five Grammy awards for “Not Like Us,” which he accepted in a Canadian tuxedo—a subtle dig at Drake’s nationality.[xii]
Given the public feud, among the betting ventures available for Super Bowl LIX was whether Lamar would play “Not Like Us.”[xiii] Before the halftime show aired, betting sites gave “Not Like Us” a 91% chance of not only being played but also being the first song of Lamar’s set.[xiv] There were several factors playing into the calculus behind the decision. On the one hand, “Not Like Us” is hands-down Lamar’s biggest hit, and, as a fan favorite, there were undoubtedly fan expectations to fulfill. But, on the other, playing it would bring more attention to Drake on arguably one of the biggest musical stages in the world.[xv] And, on top of that, there is a pending defamation lawsuit, and some of the lyrics are unsuitable for a broad national audience.
Lamar’s decision as to whether to play “Not Like Us” was a strategic one, much like those attorneys face all the time, especially when confronting the decision to raise and address opposing arguments. The potential benefit is tearing an argument down before your opponent can properly build it, but there’s also a risk in giving airtime to the opposing position. Accordingly, advocates must anticipate and balance the potential harms of raising an opposing argument in hopes of deflating it against those of raising it and giving it more power.
In Lamar’s case, he could have chosen to open his set with his most popular hit, pleasing fans but risking the appearance of pandering that he derides. Or he could have chosen to ignore the song as a means of suggesting that Drake was not worth his time and energy. But Lamar chose a different route. Roughly in the middle of his set, he teased “Not Like Us” by telling some back-up dancers, “I wanna perform their favorite song but you know they love to sue,” followed by the song’s famous beats, and then he remarked, “Yeah that song,” before moving on to a different one.[xvi] Later, however, he approached the dancers again, and they said, “Oh no. You really ‘bout to do it?” Lamar replied, “Yeah, they tried to rig the game but you can’t fake influence,” to which the dancers responded, “Then get it on it like that,” and Lamar launched into it, even calling Drake out by name. And he accommodated concerns about lyrical suitability by omitting the word pedophile and letting the stadium audience sing the final words in the line: “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-Minor.”[xvii]
So what can advocates take away from Lamar’s example?
- Risk assessment and mitigation. Lamar recognized the risk in playing a song that contained lyrics unsuitable for all audiences, and he mitigated that risk by omitting the more controversial lyrics.
- Controlling the narrative. Lamar also took steps to control the narrative by using Drake’s existing lawsuit both to suggest Drake is out of touch with what the people want and to show that Lamar could not be intimidated by not only playing the song but also calling Drake out by name when doing so.
Most attorneys would probably advise clients to avoid discussing the subject of a defamation lawsuit entirely, and especially in a public setting, to avoid making matters worse. And time will tell with Drake’s defamation suit and how it plays out, but Lamar undoubtedly won the war of public opinion. He made himself a credible speaker by confronting (and in some cases accommodating) the concerns with playing “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl while also maintaining his own authenticity. While, to some, an artist playing their biggest hit during the halftime show may have been a no-brainer, Lamar’s performance was clearly a calculated one. And his strategy was brilliant.
[i] This Day in History (April 16, 2018), History.com, available at: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kendrick-lamar-wins-the-pulitzer-prize (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025); Andrew Flanagan, Kendrick Lamar’s “Damn.” Wins Historic Pulitzer Prize in Music, The Record Music News from NPR, available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/04/16/602948758/kendrick-lamars-damn-wins-historic-pulitzer-prize-in-music (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[ii] Joe Coscarelli, ‘Not Like Us’ Reinvented Kendrick Lamar. Is the Super Bowl Ready for It?, available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/arts/music/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-not-like-us.html (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[iii] Jessica McKinney, The History of Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” as a Protest Song, available at: https://www.complex.com/music/a/j-mckinney/kendrick-lamar-alright-protest-song (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[iv] Coscarelli, supra n. ii.
[v] Id.
[vi] For a brief history of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud leading up to the release of “Not Like Us,” check out this video on The Root: https://www.theroot.com/drake-vs-kendrick-lamar-a-brief-history-of-a-beef-1851455715 (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[vii] Carl LaMarre, Drake & Kendrick Lamar’s Rocky Relationship Explained, available at: https://www.billboard.com/lists/drake-kendrick-lamar-beef-timeline/ (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[viii] Id.
[ix] Coscarelli, supra n. ii.
[x] Nadira Goffe, Does Drake’s Lawsuit Over Kendrick Lamar’s Diss Track Stand a Chance? A Lawyer Explains., available at: https://slate.com/culture/2025/02/kendrick-lamar-drake-beef-feud-not-like-us-lawsuit-umg-super-bowl-grammys.html (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[xi] LaMarre, supra n. vii.
[xii] Id.
[xiii] Coscarelli, supra n. ii.
[xiv] Erich Richter, Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl 2025 halftime show betting odds — ‘Not Like Us’ rapper’s setlist props, available at: https://nypost.com/2025/02/09/betting/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-2025-halftime-show-betting-odds-not-like-us-rappers-setlist-props/ (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[xv] Rap legend Too Short noted, “Kendrick really wins if he ignores Drake during the Super Bowl.” Coscarelli, supra n. ii. And radio and television host Charlamagne Tha God suggested a performance of “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl would be unnecessarily “spiking the football.” Id.
[xvi] NFL, Kendrick Lamar’s Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDorKy-13ak (last accessed Feb. 10, 2025).
[xvii] Id.