Kendrick Lamar has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at his historic Super Bowl halftime show.
In an Instagram post on February 13, his company pgLang shared a video from a rehearsal session featuring Kendrick and special guest Samuel L. Jackson, who introduced and narrated his performance.
The two-minute clip, titled “Rehearsal Day 20” and dated February 5, shows Jackson in a massive rehearsal space delivering his theatrical lines as “Uncle Sam.” It also features Kendrick silently practicing his highly discussed performance of his Drake diss track, “Not Like Us.”
Throughout the video, Lamar and Jackson are seen sharing laughs with the crew, while SZA, Mustard, and Serena Williams—who all joined Kendrick on stage—make brief appearances.
pgLang also posted behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram, showing Kendrick and SZA rehearsing, early designs for the video game-inspired stage, and the customized Buick Grand National featured in the show’s opening.
Kendrick’s longtime manager and creative partner, Dave Free, shared insights into the halftime show, which was watched by a record 133.5 million people.
“We wanted this performance to have a cinematic and theatrical feel. There’s no other Super Bowl show quite like this one,” Free told the Wall Street Journal.
As co-founder of pgLang and a former TDE executive, Free explained that he and Kendrick studied every past Super Bowl halftime performance, drawing inspiration from Beyoncé, Prince, and Michael Jackson.
“The theme was Black America—what it looks like, and how to control the narrative of what it means to be Black in America versus how the world sees it,” he said.
Free also addressed Kendrick’s setlist, which featured his Drake diss tracks “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us,” along with songs from his latest album GNX.
“It wasn’t about playing the hits,” he explained.
