DeMar DeRozan bluntly reacts to joining Kendrick Lamar on Super Bowl stage: "That's his moment"
This summer, DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, both LA natives, appeared onstage at Kendrick Lamar's pop-out show in mid-June. At the height of his beef with Drake, Lamar held "The Pop Out: Ken & Friends," a one-off event that saw Lamar perform alongside some of the biggest names in sports and music.
While DeRozan and Westbrook were both onstage for part of the rapper's performance at the KIA Forum in Inglewood, he has no plans to be onstage for Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance as he explained in an interview with ESPN this week.
He first spoke about his relationship with Lamar and the June show before shutting down talk of a Super Bowl halftime appearance:
"It was amazing, my relationship with Kendrick, it wasn't surprising. I know he could make a song like that at the drop of a dime. So, it definitely was cool to have him get everybody on the West Coast. ... Probably not. Probably not. That's his moment (at the Super Bowl).
"I just want to see him have his moment to hisself. He deserves that."
The two have close ties, going back to their upbringing in LA, where they attended high school just a few miles apart.
Looking at DeMar DeRozan's relationship with Kendrick Lamar, and his appearance in the 'Not Like Us' music video
DeMar DeRozan and Kendrick Lamar have a longstanding friendship going back to their time growing up together in California.
While DeRozan and Drake, who Lamar was beefing with publicly this summer, also established a friendship while DeRozan was playing in Toronto, his ties with Lamar haven't been as public.
For example, Drake frequently attends Toronto Raptors games and is a Global Ambassador for the team, while on the flip side, Lamar didn't travel to San Antonio or Chicago to watch DeRozan play. Despite that, the two have been friends for some time.
Notably, during the 2020 George Floyd protests, Lamar and DeRozan were photographed together in Compton. In addition to appearing onstage at Lamar's pop-up show this summer, DeRozan also appeared in the "Not Like Us" music video.
Although DeMar DeRozan and Kendrick Lamar are friends, he holds no ill will towards Drake. After signing with the Sacramento Kings this summer, bringing DeMar DeRozan back to his home state, he was asked whether or not the team will play Drake's music inside Golden 1 Center.
“We love Drake, we always can play him," DeRozan said. "Kendrick been a friend of mine, family. D**n near family, for a long time, for a while. We’re from the same city. We grew up d**n near in the same neighborhood. … It’s always been there. It hasn’t always been publicized, but, you know, that’s basically family.”
Given that DeMar DeRozan is now back in California, it will be interesting to see if Kendrick Lamar makes the trip up north from LA to see him play.