Lil Wayne clears the air on his relationship with Kendrick Lamar after 2025 Super Bowl halftime show drama
“I’ve spoken to him, and I wished him all the best and told him [he] better kill it,” Lil Wayne said about Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick Lamar may not have squashed his beef with Drake, but he certainly has with Lil Wayne. When the “Not Like Us” rapper was announced as the headliner of the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, social media users were shocked to see Lil Wayne was not chosen to lead the show taking place in his hometown New Orleans. In the midst of the mixed reactions online, Lil Wayne admitted “it hurt a lot” not to be tapped to perform at the upcoming Super Bowl.
“That hurt…I blame myself for not being mentally prepared for a letdown. And for automatically mentally putting myself in that position like somebody told me that was my position,” he said at the time. “So I blame myself for that. But I thought that was nothing better than that spot and that stage and that platform in my city….I feel like I let all of y’all down by not getting that opportunity, but I’m working on me, and I’m working.”
Despite his disappointment in Roc Nation and the NFL’s decision, Wayne says there are no hard feelings between him and Lamar. During a recent appearance on “The Skip Bayless Show,” Wayne reflected on his feelings about the Super Bowl decision and shut down any speculations of the two beefing.
“I’ve spoken to him and I wished him all the best and told him [he] better kill it,” Wayne told the host.
When asked about Lamar’s new song “wacced out murals,” in which he mentions Wayne and appears to comment on the situation, Wayne explained that he did not take any offense to the lyrics: “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…Won the Super Bowl and Nas the only one congratulated me / All these n—-s agitated, I’m just glad they showin’ they faces.”
“I understand those words…I think he just means that he made it there, and his hard work is the reason why he made it there, and… letting me down is just me being upset and disappointed about not getting that spot,” Wayne said, reacting to the lyrics. “That’s actually him showing that he has heart and [that] he actually cares about the situation [because] he could [have gone] about it totally different.”
He added: “I think he’s [Lamar] a fan like I’m a fan of his music. He saw what everybody else [saw], and he saw how much it meant to me. I think that’s all he means… obviously, he can’t control that. He didn’t let me down. It ain’t like he can control it.”
Wayne admits he’s still working through his emotions about not being chosen for the Super Bowl performance. However, he sees the situation as an opportunity to grow and elevate his artistry.
“I want to get to the point where I’m undeniable,” he explained. “I want them to walk in there and have ten other choices, and whoever’s in charge says, ‘No. You have to go with him.’”
More must-reads: