“I want to play their favourite song… but you know they love to sue,” said Kendrick Lamar, a couple of minutes into his Super Bowl half-time show.

Everyone knew what he was referring to. Not Like Us, his brutal takedown of rap rival Drake, was one of last year’s breakout hits, earning one billion streams on Spotify and five Grammy Awards, including song of the year.

But there were questions over whether Lamar would play it – or even could play it – at the Super Bowl, after Drake filed a defamation lawsuit for lyrics that branded him a sexual predator, which he denies.

Lamar leaned into the dilemma, teasing the song over and over during his set, before finally giving the audience what they wanted.

When the song finally played, Kendrick self-censored the most contentious lyric, in which he calls Drake a “certified paedophile”.

But he looked directly into the camera with a mischievous grin as he called out Drake’s name; and left intact the song’s notorious double-entendre: “Tryin’ to strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”

That lyric echoed around the Caesars Superdome in Louisiana, indicating that no amount of legal action could ever hope to diminish the song’s popularity.

In playing it, Lamar was expected to have reached more than 120 million TV viewers who had tuned in to see the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles.

The performance was further heightened by the surprise appearance of tennis star Serena Williams, who performed the Crip Walk – a notorious Los Angeles dance move – as Lamar prowled the stage.

Drake’s lawyers are suing Lamar’s record label Universal Music Group over the track, accusing it of trying to “create a viral hit” out of a song that made “false factual allegations” about the star.

Sunday marked the first time that a solo rapper had headlined the Super Bowl, and Lamar brought an elaborate stage show, full of dancers, fireworks and special guests.

But the rapper’s lyrics have always explored the contradictions between ego and self-doubt, and his Super Bowl set put that conflict in the spotlight.

He performed on a giant noughts and crosses board, flipping between introspective deep cuts (typically staged inside the Xs) and crowd-pleasing chart hits (which took place in the Os).

Actor Samuel L Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, acted as emcee – berating Lamar when he became too self-indulgent, and praising his duets with R&B singer SZA.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Jackson said, after the duo performed All The Stars, a ballad from the soundtrack to Marvel’s Black Panther movie.

“That’s what America wants, nice and calm.”

But whatever Lamar performed, the energy was electrifying.

Early highlights included Humble and DNA, both taken from the rapper’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN, and whose tectonic beats rattled around the stadium.

The set, which is available to watch on YouTube, also included Squabble Up, Man At The Garden and another Drake diss track, Euphoria.

Unlike most Super Bowl performers, Lamar isn’t much of a mover, but he had a charismatic swagger as he walked in step with his dancers; and clever staging gave the show momentum – especially on nervy, angular tracks like Peekaboo.

SZA also gave the set a lift, with supple vocals and improbably flexible choreography that helped soften Lamar’s edgier instincts.

Not Like Us was the undoubted climax, but Lamar took a victory lap on the bouncy West Coast anthem TV Off, where he boasted, “yeah, somebody gotta do it“.

He was joined on stage by the song’s producer, Mustard, who clutched a football while sporting the world’s baggiest jeans – before Lamar pointed an imaginary remote control at the camera and intoned, “Game Over”.

For fans, it was a powerful performance, full of Easter eggs – including a snippet of the unreleased song Bodies.

Casual viewers might have agreed more with Samuel L Jackson’s plea for Lamar to keep it light; especially as some of his more densely-written lyrics were rendered unintelligible by the stadium’s cavernous echo.

And it was noticeable that Lamar omitted to play his civil rights anthem Alright, in a year where the NFL chose to remove the phrase “end racism” from the end zone of the football field.

The phrase had been present at the Super Bowl since 2020, amid the Black Lives Matter protests – for which Alright had become the unofficial soundtrack.

Many had expected Lamar to make a bigger statement, especially with President Donald Trump in attendance, but the star’s performance remained resolutely uncontroversial – unless, of course, your name is Drake.

Nonetheless, Lamar’s show was sleek and streamlined – as many fans had expected, after audio of the backing track leaked on Thursday.

The only interruption came at the climax of the 13-minute set, when a protester climbed on top of Lamar’s black Buick GNX car and unfurled a combined Palestinian and Sudanese flag, before being tackled by security officers.

The NFL later said in a statement that the protester was part of the 400-member cast who took part in the show.

The career-spanning set crammed 11 songs into 13 minutes. Here’s what Kendrick played.

1. Bodies
2. Squabble Up
3. Humble
4. DNA
5. Euphoria
6. Man At The Garden
7. Peekaboo
8. Luther (with SZA)
9. All The Stars (with SZA)
10. Not Like Us
11. TV Off

Before the show, it had been rumoured that Taylor Swift might swoop down from her VIP suite to join Lamar on stage.

The pair duetted on a remix of her single Bad Blood in 2015 – and fans hoped they might perform it live for the first time at the Super Bowl.

In the end, Swift opted just to watch the show, along with other celebrity attendees including Paul McCartney, Stormzy, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Ice Spice, Doechii, Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper and Winnie Harlow.

Maybe it was for the best: Some reports suggested that Swift had been booed at the stadium, where almost 80% of fans supported the Philadelphia Eagles, rather than her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s team.

Before kick-off, Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance on Bourbon Street, in the middle of New Orleans’ historic French Quarter.

The star, who played her own Super Bowl half-time show in 2017, played a touching rendition of her song Hold My Hand, honouring the victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack that claimed the lives of 14 people in the city.

Gaga was surrounded by first responders as she played a black baby grand piano in the middle of the road.

“Here on Bourbon Street, always the heart and soul of New Orleans, this year began with a terror attack that tried to shatter its spirit,” said former American footballer Michael Strahan during the pre-filmed segment.

“But the resilience of New Orleans is matched by the resolve of our country.”

Musical performances before the game also included R&B artist Ledisi, who performed Lift Every Voice and Sing, often referred to as the Black National anthem, joined by 125 youth choir members.

Musician Troy Andrews, popularly known as Trombone Shorty, and Christian singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle played America the Beautiful – giving the track a feel-good New Orleans vibe.

And just before the game began, New Orleans native Jon Batiste sang the American National Anthem, adding a few jazz flourishes from his multi-coloured grand piano.