Super Bowl halftime show 2022: When is headliner Kendrick Lamar releasing new music?

As excitement builds for the Super Bowl halftime show, fans are speculating as to whether headliner Kendrick Lamar will release new music in advance.

Demand for new music from the “Humble” rapper has been at fever pitch for months. It’s almost five years since he released his last studio album, DAMN, in April 2017. Lamar’s most recent full-length project was the soundtrack to Marvel’s 2018 movie Black Panther, featuring collaborations with The Weeknd, SZA, Vince Staples, Anderson Paak and Jorja Smith.

According to Apple Music’s Rap Life Review co-host, Ebro Darden, Lamar’s team has confirmed that the star will drop a new track ahead of his Super Bowl performance.

On Wednesday’s (10 February) episode, Darden commented on information given to him by the show’s producer. “The way this reads, it sounds like it’s confirmed that we will get a single from Kendrick Lamar before his performance,” he said.

Last year, a change to Lamar’s profile image on Spotify led fans to believe that he was preparing to release new music. He also registered new song names with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), before announcing that he would be releasing his final album with longtime record label, Top Dawg Entertainment.

“As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years,” he wrote in a letter to fans. “The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood. May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators.”

Lamar, 34, has been one of TDE’s flagship artists for over a decade, and has released a number of critically adored projects through it in association with major label Interscope. These include 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly and 2017’s DAMN.

DAMN won him the Pulitzer Prize for Music, along with a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

The Super Bowl halftime show takes place on Sunday 13 February. Lamar headlines alongside Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Dr Dre and Mary J Blige.