Jay-Z Reveals Why He Chose Kendrick Lamar For Super Bowl Amid Drake Beef

BY Caroline Fisher
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 04: Jay-Z speaks onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performance sparked some serious controversy, but Jay-Z stands by his decision.

Last February, Kendrick Lamar graced the stage at New Orleans' Caesars Superdome, and the performance sparked quite a bit of controversy. This is partially because it was announced in the midst of the Compton rapper's beef with Drake, leading many to believe that Hov was picking a side.

According to him, however, that's not necessarily the case. During a recent interview with GQ's Frazier Tharpe, he opened up about the backlash he received over the halftime show, making it clear that he stands by his decision.

"I chose the guy that was having a monster year," he explained. "I think it was the right choice. What do I care about them two guys battling? What’s that got to do with me? Have at it. They drag everybody in it, like everyone’s part of this conspiracy to undermine Drake, I guess. But, it’s like, what the f*ck? I’m f*cking Jay-Z!"

Jay-Z GQ Interview

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Shawn Carter AKA Jay-Z attends "The Harder They Fall" World Premiere during the 65th BFI London Film Festival at The Royal Festival Hall on October 06, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

"All due respect to him," he continued. "I’m f*cking Hov. Respectfully. It doesn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be that these guys just don’t like each other. I think this has been brewing, just like me and Nas was brewing. It didn’t happen at the Summer Jam—that happened with 'Lex with TV sets, the minimum.' It was a whole bunch of stuff leading up to that point. I actually regret that because I really like Nas. He’s a really nice guy."

Kendrick's Super Bowl performance was far from all Jay-Z discussed during the interview. The mogul also revealed that he's been working on new music lately, though sadly, it doesn't look like fans will get to hear it anytime soon.

“I don’t know how to make music that’s not reflective of how I’m feeling at the moment," he admitted. "I have a lot of scratch ideas and they like all bad. Got to be honest, they’re bad.”

About The Author
Caroline Fisher is currently a News Editor at HotNewHipHop. Her time at HotNewHipHop began in 2023 when she began writing about music and pop culture full-time. Since then, she has helped cover major stories including the YSL RICO trial, Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s explosive feud, Diddy’s ongoing legal battle, and awards shows such as the BET Awards. Being from Chicago, she also got the opportunity to attend Summer Smash 2024 and review Chief Keef’s historic homecoming show. She additionally covered sets by Flo Milli, Playboi Carti, Bktherula, and more.

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