Kendrick Lamar vows to keep his passion for storytelling at the Super Bowl halftime show

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kendrick Lamar aims to infuse his Los Angeles hip-hop flavor into New Orleans while staying true to his storytelling roots during Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime performance.

“Being in the now and being just locked-in to how I feel and the energy I have now, that’s the L.A. energy for me,” he said Thursday at a press conference hosted by Apple Music. “That’s something I wanted to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see. This is me. This is Kendrick Lamar, 37 years old, and I still feel like I’m elevating, I’m still on a journey.”

The rap megastar will take the Super Bowl stage fresh off a Grammy triumph, where he claimed two of the night’s biggest awards — song and record of the year — for his diss track “Not Like Us.”

When asked what viewers can expect, Lamar answered: “Storytelling. I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music. And I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on.”

Lamar will be bringing hip-hop back to the NFL’s championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022. On Sunday, he becomes the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the halftime show.

“It reminds me of the essence and the core response of rap and hip-hop and how far it can go,” he said. “It puts the culture at the forefront, where it needs to be and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art form, so to represent it on this type of stage is like everything that I’ve worked for and everything that I believe in as far as the culture.”

SZA will join him but few other details about the performance were revealed, bowing to a tradition in which headliners keep their plans secret. Rihanna waited until her Super Bowl performance in 2023 to reveal she was pregnant with her second child.

The Super Bowl will be held Sunday at the Caesars Superdome, with the two-defending champions Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles in a championship rematch.

Who else is performing at the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl pregame will have some Louisiana flavor: Jon Batiste will hit the stage to sing the national anthem, while Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle are slated to perform “America the Beautiful.”

Batiste said he’ll be thinking of his grandfather, a veteran who recently died.

“I think about a lot of people in my life who have represented what I believe this song is about and should be about at its highest aspirational level,” he said. “When I channel that, it makes it feel like it’s me. But it’s way bigger than me. I’m just a vessel for that energy in the world to continue. If that can happen, I might get choked up.”

Ledisi will perform “ Lift Every Voice and Sing ” as part of the pregame performances.

The national anthem and “America the Beautiful” will be performed by actor Stephanie Nogueras in American sign language. Otis Jones IV will sign “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the halftime show will be signed by Matt Maxey.

The pregame performers are all Louisiana natives.

Why is the Super Bowl perfect time for Lamar & SZA?

In just a week, Lamar will go from dominating the Grammys with five wins in all his categories to taking center stage at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Fresh off releasing his highly-acclaimed album “GNX,” Lamar is also gearing up for a major tour alongside SZA, his former Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate. The Grand National Tour kicks off April 19 in Minneapolis and concludes June 18 in Washington, D.C.

“I’m honored to be next to her talent,” Lamar said of SZA.

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