Kendrick Lamar is rapping about some bad blood.
With the surprise Nov. 22 release of his sixth album GNX, the "Not Like Us" rapper addressed the controversy surrounding his upcoming performance at the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Kendrick was announced as the headliner in September, but many fans assumed that rapper Lil Wayne would be chosen since the game was being held at Caesars Superdome in the "Lollipop" emcee's hometown of New Orleans. In fact, Lil Wayne expressed his "hurt" over the perceived snub, sharing in a recent Instagram video, "I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown and for just automatically, mentally putting myself in that position."
On the song "wacced out murals," Kendrick alluded to the incident, rapping, "Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud / Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down / Whatever though, call me crazy, everybody questionable / Turn me to an Esk---, I drew the line and decimals."
He also addressed the controversy more specifically in the following verse, saying that very few of his fellow musicians had reached out to him.
"Won the Super Bowl and Nas the only one congratulate me / All these n----s agitated, I'm just glad they showin' they faces," he continued. "Quite frankly, plenty artists, but they outdated / Old-ass flows, tryna convince me that you they favorite / This is not for lyricists, I swear it's not the sentiments."
Kendrick's upcoming Super Bowl show will be the second time he's performed at the sporting event. He joined headliners Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige for the 2022 Halftime show.
And when the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper was announced to return to NFL's biggest stage earlier this year, he told E! News in a statement, "Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date. And I'll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one."
Lil Wayne has not publicly responded to Kendrick's song, though he previously said that not being chosen as the 2025 Super Bowl performer made him "feel like s--t."
"I feel like I let all of y'all down for not getting that opportunity," the "Love Me" rapper added to fans in his Instagram video. "But I'm working on me, and I'm working. So thank you."