"It was weak as baby sh*t" — DJ Akademiks claims Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show should have aired on Tubi

Hip-hop streamer and influencer DJ Akademiks recently claimed that Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show was "weak" and could have been streamed on Tubi. Lamar made history by becoming the first solo hip-hop artist to headline the Super Bowl in 2025.

In one of his recent streams, DJ Akademiks criticized Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance and stated:

"That stage made Kendrick look mighty small. It was weak as baby sh*t. This sh*t looks like it should have aired on Tubi."

Kendrick Lamar headlined the halftime show at the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 9, 2025. The rapper performed many of his hits, including two diss tracks aimed at Drake: the popular Not Like Us and Euphoria. He also showcased some tracks from his November 2024 album, GNX, such as Reincarnated, Squabble Up, and TV Off.

K Dot was joined on stage by his frequent collaborator SZA, who performed All The Stars and Luther with him. Tennis superstar Serena Williams also joined him on stage, dancing during his performance of Not Like Us.

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DJ Akademiks claims he leaked Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance setlist, hoping he would change it

Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show (Image via Getty)

After Kendrick Lamar's performance at the Super Bowl, DJ Akademiks alleged that he leaked his setlist ahead of the show. On Sunday, February 9, he took to his Instagram stories claiming that he leaked the setlist because he wanted Lamar to change it. He wrote:

"Sorry, Kendrick that I leaked ur performance. I apologize. U did ya thing tho. I leaked Kendrick Super Bowl performance hoping he would change it. He ain't do it... he doubled down. I'm wat the culture was feeling... I tried to save y'all from that."

Shortly after, Akademiks went on Instagram Live, sharing that the NFL threatened to sue him over the leaked setlist. The influencer, known to be a fan of Lamar's rival Drake, had shared an alleged leaked audio of the setlist, which was later taken down.

During his Instagram Live, Akademiks mentioned that someone who worked backstage had shared the alleged leaked audio with him.

"Let me tell you how got that n***a Kendrick's f**king Super Bowl performance. A n***a who worked at the f**king arena's a chat n***a. The NFL hit me, 'Ak, we're going to sue you. Well, do then," he said.

"They sent me an email this morning. They said, 'Don't mention the tracklist.' That's coz, apparently, when we leaked it, they got paranoid. You know what I did? I went live on Rumble, shout out to Rumble, I went live on Twitter, and I leaked that b**ch. I just wanna show y'all, any of y'all journalists who ever think y'all on my level... Suck a d**k," he added.

DJ Akademiks was a loyal supporter of Drake during his highly publicized rap feud with Kendrick Lamar from March to May 2024. During this period, both rappers exchanged several shots at each other through diss tracks. Lamar even referenced Akademiks in one of his tracks aimed at Drake, titled 6:16 in LA.

In another diss track, Family Matters, Drizzy accused Lamar of domestic violence, while K Dot retaliated by accusing the Toronto rapper of p*dophilia in Not Like Us. That track became a significant success for Lamar, earning him five Grammy Awards, including the Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

During his Super Bowl performance, Kendrick Lamar censored a line from Not Like Us in which he referred to Drake as a "certified p*dophile." Instead of mentioning the word, Lamar allowed some music to make up for it.

However, he performed his famous line, which featured a play on "A Minor," comparing it to a guitar chord. The crowd appeared to sing along with the line.

"Why you trollin' like a b**ch? Ain't you tired?/ Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor," the lyrics said.

Kendrick Lamar also seemingly alluded to Drake's lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), in which he accused the label of inflating the streaming numbers of Not Like Us. Before performing the track, K Dot playfully teased it by asking some of his backup dancers if he should sing their "favorite song," referring to Not Like Us.

"I wanna make a move. I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue," Lamar said.

The hip-hop community had mixed reactions to Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance. While many criticized Lamar, others considered it a great performance.

Roc Nation has announced that Kendrick Lamar's show was the most-watched Super Bowl performance, with 133.5 million viewers, surpassing Michael Jackson's record of 133.4 million in 1993.