Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Announcement Makes Subtle Reference To “6:16 In LA”

Kendrick Lamar seemingly made reference to his diss track, “6:16 in LA,” in the announcement video that he’ll be performing at Super Bowl LIX. “You gotta make sure you catch it with the hands open like that. We running real routes. You gonna be messing up,” he says in the video. Cole Cuchna caught the subtle reference in the latest episode of his Dissect podcast, noting that on “6:16 in LA,” Lamar raps, “Your lil’ memes is losin’ steam, they figured you out / The forced opinions is not convincin’, y’all need a new route.”

Fans on social media have been having mixed reactions to the ideas. “Some of these seem like reaches…Either that or Kendrick has done the best research papers as a kid in the history of school lol,” one fan on X (formerly Twitter) wrote. Another user theorized: “I thought the whole thing was Kendrick throwing the ball to his kid while sending shots at Drake then also parenting in itself sending a shot at Drake.”

Elsewhere in the announcement video, Lamar more directly trolls Drake. “You know there’s only one opportunity to win a championship. No round twos,” he remarks at one point. The Toronto rapper had recently teased being ready for a “Game 2” with Lamar on his Instagram Story.

JAY-Z played a key role in the NFL selecting Lamar to perform at the halftime show. Along with his Roc Nation company, he will serve as an executive producer of the event. “Kendrick Lamar is truly a once-in-a-generation artist and performer,” JAY-Z said in a statement. “His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision. He has an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years to come.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Kendrick Lamar and Super Bowl LIX on HotNewHipHop.