Kendrick Lamar says expect some 'storytelling' in his Super Bowl halftime show

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Kendrick Lamar has been riding high lately, and now he is poised to reach one of his highest heights yet.

Fresh off of winning five Grammy Awards, including song and record of the year for his hit 'Not Like Us', Lamar is the featured performer for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show on Monday (NZ time).

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Lamar sat for a rare interview during the Apple Music Super Bowl press conference on Thursday, where he was asked what people could expect in his set.

"Storytelling," Lamar said. "I've always been very open about storytelling through all my catalogue and my history of music. And I've always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I'm on."

There has been palpable excitement among fans of the rapper, but also interest in how he will handle 'Not Like Us', given both its content and a current lawsuit surrounding the hit.

The song is part of a viral-rap battle that occurred between Lamar and Drake last year that has led to a complicated legal case. Leah Stevenson, an entertainment attorney with MGL Law firm, said what began as a beef between two of the biggest stars in hip hop, mushroomed far beyond that.

"This song became a much larger conversation for America about standing on morals, standing on values, standing on the beliefs that we have and the way that we move," she told CNN.

"It became a song that people started using in very big cultural moments, so this song has gotten way bigger than just a diss battle."

For that reason and more, all eyes will be on Lamar when he takes the stage before millions at the Super Bowl.

The legality of it all

Last month, Drake filed a lawsuit against his own record label, UMG Recordings, Inc., in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Canadian rapper and actor has accused the label of defamation in the publishing and promotion of 'Not Like Us' and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

Drake is currently represented by Republic Records, a division of UMG, while Lamar is currently represented by Interscope records, also a division of UMG. Lamar is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

"Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist - let alone Drake - is illogical," a spokesperson for UMG said in a statement to CNN at the time the lawsuit was filed.

"We have not and do not engage in defamation-against any individual. At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more that write a song."

Part of what Drake objects to - and strongly denies - are Lamar's lyrics in which he raps, "Say Drake, I hear you like 'em young/You better not ever go to cell block one", as well as Lamar saying "Certified lover boy? Certified pedophiles" and another portion in the song where he says "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A Minor".

So might his performing it at the Super Bowl lead to more legal action by Drake, given that he has already come after UMG for defamation?

Not necessarily, said Stevenson, who noted that Lamar has several options for how he could handle it during the halftime show.

"Would there be a potential requirement where he's not allowed to perform certain aspects, kind of like a radio edit, where we're seeing the 'A Minor' and the other language that's in 'Not Like Us' as problematic and therefore stripped and cut out from him being able to audibly perform that? That is quite possible," she said.

"There could be a situation where we see Kendrick not being able to say those words, but that doesn't mean that the entire crowd at the Super Bowl, as well as the millions of Americans that are at home at their their Super Bowl parties would not be singing those words."

CNN has reached out to the NFL to determine if any limitations have been put on Lamar regarding performing the song.

The KDot of it all

Stevenson's point about the popularity of the song was echoed by Craig Arthur, associate professor of practice in the Academy of Transdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech, one of the co-founders of VTDITC: Hip Hop Studies at Virginia Tech.

"He's arguably the most relevant current rapper out right now. A lot of hip hop has been flattened as far as regional sounds, and I feel like Kendrick has really held on to his LA roots," Arthur said in a statement.

"In a world where a lot of people try to sound like somebody else or try to emulate other folks, he has a unique sound and a unique voice. I think that he's allowed, because of his position, to explore concepts and topics that a lot of other artists shy away from."

This year's Super Bowl game is being played in New Orleans and 'Not Like Us' has been a large part of the run up to the game. From having been played during opening night event on Monday, at the media centre, and as part of the NFL's Super Bowl Experience, there has been no escaping what is now arguably the most famous diss track to ever hit the charts.

Lamar, who is known as KDot by his fans, is about to perform to his biggest audience on a stage with a history of controversy. From Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004 to M.I.A. flipping the bird in 2012 and Beyoncé evoking the Black Panthers in 2016, there have been plenty of viral halftime show moments.

But for Lamar, 'Not Like Us' is more than just a well-placed jab at a fellow artist.

"'Not Like Us' is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent," Lamar told collaborator and friend SZA in a conversation for Harper's Bazaar in October.

"Now, if you identify with the man that I represent ... This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He's not pandering.

"He's a man who can recognise his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he's less of a man," the Compton, California native added. "If I'm thinking of 'Not Like Us', I'm thinking of me and whoever identifies with that."

SZA is scheduled to be a guest at Lamar's halftime show.

Lamar was asked during Thursday's press conference about his feelings after his major Grammy wins last weekend.

"I was just thinking about the culture, really," he said. "It's like when people talk about rap, man, the conversations I hear, they think it is just rap and it's not an actual art form. So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people that this is more than just something that came 50 years ago."

*CNN's Kyle Feldscher contributed to this story.

-CNN