Super Bowl halftime shows: Where does Kendrick Lamar rank with Prince and the greats….See More

The Athletic has live coverage of Chiefs vs. Eagles in Super Bowl LIX and Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance.

Editor’s note: The Athletic baseball writer Levi Weaver is an accomplished singer, songwriter and musician who has played roughly 1,000 shows in 43 states and 10 countries.)

For all the things the Super Bowl halftime show does well, something it hasn’t done consistently is getting the biggest star in music at the peak of his or her popularity. Strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.

This year, the show did that. Kendrick Lamar has long been among the best and most respected rappers in the world, but when he capped off a nuclear rap beef with Drake by dropping the catchiest — and most vicious — song of 2024, “Not Like Us,” Lamar transcended the genre to become a household name.