Is Kendrick Lamar Being Censored For SuperBowl Halftime Show?

Kendrick Lamar fans who were dreaming forward to singing along to “Not Like Us” during the upcoming SuperBowl Halftime show may be in for a rude awakening.

Rumors are currently swirling that one of the big wigs at the NFL has called on the “Euphoria” lyricist to essentially hold back during his biggest live performance to date. Multiple sources have claimed that the league has requested that Kendrick shy away from performing his scathing Drake diss track—that notoriously likens the Canadian rapper to a pedophile.

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As murmurs of the alleged “Not Like Us” SuperBowl embargo made its way down the grapevine and on to the social media timeline, plenty of users reacted by providing their 20 cents on the situation.

“Nahh Forreal tho if ‘Not Like Us’ gets removed from the Superbowl the crowd better be RAPPING THE WHOLE SONG for the Love of Culture and Hip hop & For Kendrick!” one Twitter user asserted in a tweet.

Another user speculated, “I wonder if this whole lawsuit was just to try and block Kendrick from performing ‘Not Like Us’ at the Superbowl. The user continued, “Imagine being such a sore loser you’re forever gonna look like a p*ssy a*s b*tch now.”

Another user concluded, “atp kendricks only song at the superbowl better be not like us played six times in a row.”

The reports of the NFL allegedly requesting “Not Like Us” be omitted from Kendrick’s setlist follow an uptick in the legal saga surrounding the diss track initiated by it’s target. After withdrawing his legal petition against Spotify and UMG on January 14, Drake’s legal counsel turned around and filed a lawsuit against UMG claiming they mounted a campaign to devalue his name and music by boosting Kendrick Lamar’s ”Not Like Us” diss track. In a response an official with UMG shared with Variety on January 15, not only does the label deny Drake’s claims have any validity, it also suggests he’s using the lawsuit to stop Lamar for doing what they’ve helped him do to other artists his entire career.

No matter the case, Kendrick’s performance of the song seemed all but confirmed, based on his surprise GNX album track “tv off” during which the Compton MC uttered a single cryptic bar seemingly loaded with his intentions for his halftime show set.

“Walk in New Orleans with the etiquette of L.A. yellin/MUSTAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRD,” Kendrick raps on the track.