NFL threatens to sue Kendrick Lamar half-time show spoiler DJ Akademiks: “They got paranoid”

DJ Akademiks claimed the NFL warned to take legal action over Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show setlist leak.

NFL threatens to sue Kendrick Lamar half-time show spoiler DJ Akademiks: “They got paranoid”

DJ Akademiks received warning from NFL over leaking Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl halftime show setlist (image via Fader/Reuters)

As anticipated, Kendrick Lamar sent the internet in shockwaves in his Super Bowl halftime show. However, days prior to the big day, leaked audio claiming to be the original setlist for the rapper’s performance made rounds on the internet. While the authorities took it down, DJ Akademiks alleged the NFL was taking legal action against him for the leak.

In a new video surfacing on the internet, DJ Akademiks doubled down on the setlist leak, claiming the NFL threatened to take legal action. The podcaster shared the email he received from the league asking to not mention the track list. Per his claims, the NFL got skeptical, and he proceeded to leak the audio on platforms Rumble and X.

They said, “Don’t mention the tracklist!” Cause apparently when we leaked it, they got paranoid.

DJ Akademiks via IG Live
YouTube video

Days prior to the Super Bowl, on February 6, 2025, a 12-minute audio clip trended on social media under Kendrick Lamar’s track list banner. Only sometime later, the rapper’s company, Interscope Records, took it down under DMCA copyright infringement.

FS Video

The next day, DJ Akademiks shared the screenshot from the record label on his X, asserting the audio was authentic. In a separate Instagram story, the podcaster expressed his hopes to get Lamar to change his lineup, but that did not happen.

The Super Bowl halftime show was opened by Samuel L Jackson, who introduced Kendrick Lamar. The performance wrapped up in approximately 15 minutes, including guest performers. The rapper performed several hit songs, from his new album, including the viral diss track, ‘Not Like Us‘. The controversial song about fellow rapper Drake also received five Grammy awards in different categories only a week prior.

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Kendrick Lamar forced to make changes at Super Bowl halftime show

Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show announcement sent the fans in a frenzy, in consideration of the artist’s bold music. Most importantly, the viewers challenged their predictions of the rapper performing his super hit track Not Like Us despite involvement in a legal battle over it. However, they also did not underestimate the tight ropes often launched by the NFL.

Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl halftime show
Kendrick Lamar (Via GQ)

The aforementioned track, controversial for calling out huge slurs to Drake, did make another appearance to fans delight. However, the impact was not as it had been at any other occasion, as the fans noted several changed. Where the singer had made direct shots in the original version, he softened or omitted certain ethically challenged lyrics in the halftime performance.

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Per sources, the NFL mandated several edits to the artist to avoid FCC fines, much like what happened in Lamar’s previous Super Bowl appearance in 2022. Another reason was the impending lawsuit from Drake over the said defamatory lyrics. Contradictory to allegedly advised by Lamar’s legal team, the rapper did manage to get a vast audience to sing a song like that.