Kendrick Lamar has treated fans to a behind-the-scenes glimpse of his historic Super Bowl halftime show.
In an Instagram post on Thursday (February 13), the rapper’s pgLang company shared a video of a rehearsal session involving Kendrick and surprise guest Samuel L. Jackson, who introduced and narrated his performance.
The two-minute-long clip — titled “Rehearsal Day 20” and dated February 5, just days before the big game — shows the legendary actor in a giant rehearsal space performing his theatrical lines as “Uncle Sam.”
It also shows Kendrick rehearsing his much-discussed performance of his hit Drake diss song “Not Like Us,” albeit silently.
Elsewhere in the video, Lamar and Jackson share a laugh with others involved in the complex production, while SZA, Mustard and Serena Williams — who all joined Kendrick on stage in New Orleans — also make brief cameos.
pgLang also shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram, showing Kendrick and SZA rehearsing their duets, early plans for the video game-inspired stage design and the modified Buick Grand National car that featured in the beginning of the show.
Kendrick Lamar’s longtime manager and creative partner Dave Free also recently shed light on the Super Bowl halftime show, which was viewed by a record 133.5 million people.
“We wanted this performance to have a cinematic and theatrical element to it. We can confidently say that there’s no Super Bowl performance that’s quite like this one,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
The pgLang co-founder and former TDE executive added that he and Kendrick prepared for the event by watching every single Super Bowl halftime performance, drawing particular inspiration from Beyoncé, Prince and Michael Jackson’s shows.
“The feel of it is Black America. What does Black America look like, and how to control that narrative of what it means to be Black in America versus what the world’s perspective of that is,” he said.
Free also addressed Dot’s setlist, which mainly featured his Drake diss tracks “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us,” as well as songs from his latest album GNX.
“It wasn’t about playing the hits,” he explained.
why this little guy wear size 29 womens jeans to the supa bowl? what part of the culture is that?
Why are you criticizing other men’s fashion choices? Gay ass mf’er
You worry about the wrong things smh. No straight man is worrying about another man’s fashion.
because men wearing womens clothes is ghey af.
Bruh let them feminize him on one of the world’s biggest stages. Hard to believe Kenny would go out like that.
Yeah, straight men are worried about other men being f@gs. They dint want their sons, friends, and family to be little queens in tight jeans. Sorry that it worries us to see testosterone levels drop to record lows and see the systemic feminization of males.
Truth – You mean when a rapper from Canada paints his nails, poses with ducky lips, and wears turquoise boots dressed like a gay Marge Simpson?
When Kendrick does it it’s ok tho?
loa – forgot that the rapper from Canada paints his nails, posed with a ducky lips, and wears turquoise boots.
Snoop painted his nails 50 cent roasted him for it
Samuel is a culture vulture himself appropriating Asian stuff. I swear people like Kendrick narcissists don’t see it or want to understand they just want to be the center of attention. Rap has fallen hard when the beef is this guy and Drake with sissy boy Cole in the background.
Shut your muthafuckin’ mouth, little Greg.
When I see Sza and Kendrick in them jeans I see 2 bad bitches.
That means you’re a homo
And when Kendrick said it?
Dnai – Gay Greg
Why is Kendrick so fake? He’s done now 2 songs for Disney. He’s critical of the white stuff but he works with them, continues to be signed to zionists, took thr super bowl from Wayne, played victim, did this and now he’s doing music for the next captain America movie made by white people and from Disney a company run by a zionist. This guy doesn’t care about black people he cares about himself. All of you falsely claim Kanye is conceited no it’s this guy and yes Drake is awful too this whole generation you’ve built up socks Cole too he’s garbage and cowardly as well. Now Kendrick sicked his dogs on Joey Badass.
Rokf – fake woke gay man
Can we stop pretending this guy did numbers for his performance the crowd was mostly dead and the viewership was down compared to Usher’s performance last year and streaming numbers don’t mean much not to mention GNX didn’t really chart like that. The kenbots are streaming the album again just to troll but this just isn’t good let’s stop pretending. Not to mention the allegations against TDE or Kendricks mentor Dre which are fact
Xiso – ignoring the numbers. Going off speculation.
samuel jackson which rock did he crawl out from
Kendrick is pushing for a race war but when Johnny Somali does it it’s wrong? Johnny was warning all of you he’s seen the island and the Diddy parties he was a kid there. The NFL could have avoided this but now they broadcast a performance that incited a race war and Jay-Z played a role in it too as did UMG and thr Grammy committee. Jay-Z needs to be jailed. Wayne getting the halftime show would have been peace and good vibes Kendrick calls for a race war.
Twoma – wasting time writing gay woke outrage.