Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show to ‘put rap culture on forefront’

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 6 (UPI) — Kendrick Lamar will “put rap culture on the forefront, where it needs to be” during his performance at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, he said Thursday in New Orleans. The 22-time Grammy winner, who took home five awards Sunday, will take the stage with singer-songwriter SZA at halftime Sunday at Caesars Superdome. Lamar and pregame artists previewed their performance at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Advertisement “It reminds me of the essence and the core response of rap and hip hop and how far it can go,” Lamar said. “For me it means everything because it puts the culture on the forefront where it needs to be and not minimized to just a catchy song or verse. This is a true art form. “To represent it on this type of stage, it’s like everything I’ve worked for and everything I believed in as far as the culture. I live and die by it.” Lamar, 37, will cram his renowned musical catalogue into a 13-minute performance while Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles players are in their respective locker rooms. The “Not Like Us” singer, who released GNX in November, returns...