by Derrel Johnson
Global music superstar Kendrick Lamar is one of the most accomplished hip-hop artists of all time. The Compton, California native has been nominated for a stunning 57 Grammy Awards, with five coming at the 67th Grammy Awards in February, including the prestigious Song of the Year award for his ubiquitous “Not Like Us” to bring his total count to 22. He has collaborated with the music industry’s biggest superstars, including Beyonce, Drake, Rihanna, and Taylor Swift, to name a few. For the biggest hip-hop fans, his success is no surprise.
Signed to Top Dawg Entertainment as a teenager in 2005, the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music winner released his first album, Section.80, in 2011, followed by Good Kid, M.A.A.D City the following year. But his appearance on the 2012 A$AP Rocky single “F**kin Problems” alongside Drake and 2 Chainz announced his hip-hop stardom. The single showed that Lamar could hold his own with hip-hop’s elite and walk away with arguably the song’s best verse. 2012’s “Swimming Pools (Drank),” followed by a remix featuring hip-hop superstar-turned-billionaire businessman Jay Z in the spring of 2013, further solidified his stardom.
The 11-time MTV Video Music Award winner is no stranger to anthemic hits like 2017’s “Humble” or 2018’s “All the Stars,” his collaboration with SZA featured in the $1.3 billion-grossing film Black Panther. Still, his 2024 musical altercations with global hip-hop superstar Drake garnered the most attention and Billboard chart success of his career.
The two hip-hop titans toured together in 2012 and have been featured on songs together, with Drake appearing on Lamar’s 2012 Janet Jackson-sampled single “Poetic Justice.” The 2024 song “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin officially announced his beef with Drake, followed by a series of songs by both artists that eventually led to “Not Like Us.”
Lamar’s 2024 success, fueled by his beef with Drake, led to him being selected as the first-ever hip-hop artist to headline the Super Bowl. The much talked about performance, which featured cameo appearances by actor Samuel L. Jackson playing Uncle Sam, tennis legend Serena Williams, music producer Mustard, and singer SZA, garnered 133.5 Million viewers according to Apple Music and Roc Nation, more than the average viewership of the game itself, which was 126 million viewers.
While viewers’ opinions of the show vary, there is no doubt that the Americana displayed during the show was intentional, complete with dancers wearing red, white, and blue. The Celine Flare jeans he wore during the performance, which resemble bell bottoms that became popular in the 1970s, have become one of the hottest fashion items following his performance.
Following the Grammy and Super Bowl success in February, the Academy Award nominee will embark on a global tour with SZA with 39 stadium dates scheduled. For Kendrick Lamar, superstardom has arrived, and with the momentum he built in 2024 that continued into 2025, the sky’s the limit on how far he will ascend.
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