Kendrick Lamar & Rihanna Reportedly Turned Down Headlining Coachella Next Year

Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna fans are desperate for a new album, but it looks like they might not have much to promote… Right? Well, according to a recent Bloomberg report, Goldenvoice’s president Paul Tollet is shopping around for Coachella 2025 headliners, and asked the “LOYALTY.” duo if the would be down. Apparently, they turned the offer down, although this doesn’t necessarily indicate that they won’t be coming out with something soon. This report also claimed that K.Dot will go on a stadium tour in 2025, and his Super Bowl halftime show next year also suggests that he’s got something to roll out.

As for RiRi… We’re all out of guesses. We don’t know if she’s just really working that hard on perfecting her next record over the course of almost a decade at this point. Also, Rihanna continues to grow her business empire and her family, so she has plenty of extracurricular reasons to maybe leave the music to the side at this point. Die-hards hope that this isn’t the case, but at this point, we have to be pessimistic rather than blindly hopeful.

Kendrick Lamar & Rihanna Allegedly Turned Coachella Down

In addition, we also need to compare this reported Coachella rejection to the Super Bowl halftime show. When Rihanna performed last year, she didn’t follow it up with an album release, which was very disappointing even for the fans hyped about her pregnancy reveal. As for Kendrick Lamar, he’s got his headlining slot coming up in New Orleans on February 9, one that the Barbadian singer is very excited for. Of course, this doesn’t guarantee an album rollout, or even new material. But we can’t imagine that the Compton lyricist didn’t attack Drake with a plan to have this lead into something larger or what he really wants to talk about and share with the world.

Whether or not you think Kendrick Lamar deserved the Super Bowl slot is another story. Regardless of that debate, he and Rihanna continue to be at the top of people’s “most anticipated albums” list. Coachella-goers next year sadly won’t see them on the main stage, but this speculative discussion around their next moves will continue regardless of a “yes” or “no” answer. As such, no report or theory will close the door or open it when it comes to their next record, unless either of them says anything to the contrary.

About The Author

Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output.

Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond.

Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C.

His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.