Drake and Kendrick Lamar dominated discourse in 2024 due to their heavyweight rap beef, which continued into this week following the latter’s performance at halftime during Super Bowl LIX. Charlamagne Tha God recently critiqued the set for having too much focus on the Toronto rapper.
During Lamar’s momentous performance, he rapped a portion of his diss track “Euphoria” and teased performing his smash hit diss song “Not Like Us.” He told his backup dancers that “they love to sue,” a reference to the 6 God’s current lawsuit against Universal Music Group for defamation. Later on, he delivered the track, flashed a conniving smirk at the camera when he rapped the line “Say Drake,” and tapped Drizzy’s ex Serena Williams to hit the crip walk during the song.
“I still wouldn’t have done ‘Not Like Us’ if I was Kendrick,” The Breakfast Club host said. “Kendrick is bigger than ‘Not Like Us.’ ‘Not Like Us‘ is a moment in time for Kendrick; it does not define him or who he is.” While their rap beef was a major moment for Hip-Hop and has elevated multiple personalities and podcasts, some people are tired of discussing it; Charlamagne seems to fall into that demographic.
“At the end of the set it said ‘game over’ and I really hope it is at this point,” he added. “You should never go past the mark you aim for in victory. […] I just wouldn’t give my opp and his minions that kind of love on that big a** stage.” This is just the latest benchmark in what has been a nine-month victory lap for Kendrick Lamar.
Since unleashing “Not Like Us” in May 2024, he headlined The Pop Out concert on Juneteenth where he performed the record six times, in addition to “Euphoria” and his other Drake diss “6:16 In LA.” The following month, the Compton rapper shared the “Not Like Us” music video on Independence Day. This past fall, he submitted “Like That,” the proverbial “first shot” in their lyrical warfare, and “Not Like Us” for Grammy nominations. “Not Like Us” went on to sweep all five categories it was nominated for, notably Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year, making it the most-awarded Hip-Hop song in Grammy history.
On top of all that, all of this momentum powered his November 2024 album GNX to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. The LP boasted the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 record “Squabble Up,” which was teased at the beginning of the “Not Like Us” music video. It was one of the most successful runs the Hip-Hop community ever witnessed, especially having spawned from a diss track. Though Charlamagne Tha God and many others believe the Drake aspect of it all sours such a significant moment, K. Dot has ridden the wave and will continue to do so on his Grand National Tour with SZA beginning in April. Check out Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance below.
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