Kendrick Lamar headlines Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show

Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show of Apple Music Super Bowl LIX 2025.

Roc Nation, NFL and Apple Music made the announcement on Sunday. The big game will take place on February 9, 2025 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. It will be broadcast on Fox.

Lamar previously performed at the hip-hop-heavy 2022 halftime show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent. All of the performers, as well as executive producers Jay-Z and Jesse Collins, won the Emmy for Outstanding Live Variety Special for the epic performance. Creative direction for Lamar's upcoming performance is being handled by pgLang, the creative company founded by the rap star and close collaborator Dave Free, the filmmaker and producer who has directed or co-directed most of Lamar's music videos.

“Rap music remains the most influential genre to date. And I will be there to remind the world why. You have found the right thing,” Lamar, 37, said in a statement.

Jay-Z and his company Roc Nation are producing the halftime show for the sixth year. The rap icon and mogul won his second Emmy for co-directing Rihanna's 2023 halftime show performance with Hamish Hamilton, becoming one of the few Black directors to win in the special category of Outstanding Directing for a Variety Show. This year's halftime show, featuring Usher, was nominated for three Emmys and became the most-watched halftime show of all time.

“Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer. His deep love for hip-hop and culture shapes his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture worldwide. Kendrick's work transcends music and his influence will be felt for years to come,” Jay-Z said in a statement.

Lamar has been a critical and commercial success since the release of his mixtape in 2011 Section.80 and major label debut, 2012 good child, mAAd-cityHe has won 17 Grammys and his 2017 work, DAMNED.won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first non-classical or jazz artist to receive this prestigious award. He also received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for 2018's “All the Stars” by Black Panther.

This year he topped the Billboard charts with the anthems “Not Like Us” and “Like That” alongside Future and Metro Boomin.

“Few artists have had as profound an impact on music and culture as Kendrick Lamar. Time and time again, Kendrick has demonstrated his unique ability to create moments that resonate, redefine and ultimately shake the foundations of hip-hop,” NFL music chief Seth Dudowsky said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Kendrick, Roc Nation and Apple Music to deliver another unforgettable halftime show.”

Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of Apple Music, Apple TV+, Sports and Beats, added: “The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show is a celebration of the music we love and the incredible artists who make it – all on the biggest stage in the world. Apple is thrilled to bring this show, featuring the absolutely incomparable Kendrick Lamar, to fans around the world – with Apple Music's industry-leading spatial audio quality, plus countless exclusive videos, interviews, playlists and more on Apple Music.”

The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX halftime show will be produced by DPS, with Roc Nation and Jesse Collins serving as executive producers and Hamish Hamilton serving as director. Roc Nation will also serve as strategic entertainment advisor for the live performance.