When Kendrick Lamar took center stage at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, his entrance wasn’t just about spectacle, it was a statement. Squatting on the hood of a 1987 Buick GNX, Lamar transformed a rare 1980s muscle car into a symbol of personal and artistic significance.

For some fans, the choice of vehicle may have seemed like a simple nod to classic hip-hop aesthetics, but in reality, the GNX’s presence carried layers of meaning, tying together Lamar’s past, present, and musical ethos. And of course, all that symbolism helped pile onto the Drake-disses that permeated Lamar’s halftime show, an immense final nail in a nearly year-long feud between the two artists.

A ride through Kendrick’s roots

Lamar’s connection to the Buick GNX is a direct link to his childhood. The GNX is a high-performance version of the Buick Regal, the very model his father drove when bringing newborn Kendrick home from the hospital in 1987. That same year, Buick released the GNX, a limited-production muscle car that became a cult classic.

Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Jamie Squire/Getty Images

That connection deepened with the release of his latest album, GNX, in November 2024. The album, named after the rare muscle car, explores themes of authenticity, legacy, and resilience, values embodied by the car itself.

The GNX was Buick’s bold attempt to compete with dominant sports cars of its era, even beating the Ferrari F40’s quarter-mile time. That same energy runs parallel with Lamar’s path in hip-hop, where he has continuously pushed boundaries and challenged industry norms.

A statement on authenticity

Beyond personal history, Lamar’s GNX serves as a metaphor for his stance on authenticity in hip-hop. In recent months, he has been embroiled in a high-profile lyrical feud with Drake, in which he repeatedly criticized the Canadian rapper as being an inauthentic participant in hip-hop culture.

In an Instagram post before the album’s release, Lamar wrote, “But in the moment of confusion, the best thing you can do is find a GNX. Make you realize the only thing that matters in life is that original paperwork. That TL2 code. 1 of 547.”

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The “TL2 code” refers to the factory designation that General Motors used for Grand Nationals that received the GNX treatment, ensuring their legitimacy. By drawing this parallel, Lamar subtly reinforced the idea that authenticity in hip-hop is just as critical as originality in classic cars, there’s no substitute for the real thing.

Gutting an icon

For his halftime show, Lamar’s team needed to hollow out a GNX to accomplish the clown car-esque visual trick that allowed some two dozen dancers to pour out of the vehicle, Shelley Rodgers, the show’s art director, told WIRED.

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In a behind-the-scenes photo, ladders can be seen mounted underneath the car leading up to the driver’s seat and trunk, allowing dancers to crowd underneath the stage before climbing up through the gutted GNX. Lamar took delivery of his personal GNX back in March of 2024, but his team had to find another one for the performance that could be hollowed out. With just 547 GNXs ever built, we’re hoping that the gutted vehicle used in the performance was just a rebadged Grand National, but Rodgers seemed to suggest that it was the real deal.

Final thoughts

The Buick GNX was already an icon among car enthusiasts, but Lamar’s embrace of the vehicle over recent months has no doubt elevated its cultural significance. From album art to music videos to the biggest stage in American entertainment, the GNX now stands as a symbol of power and authenticity. Just as Buick took a bold risk with the GNX in the 1980s, Lamar continues to push the limits of hip-hop, proving that authenticity and innovation can go hand in hand.

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