The performance began with Kendrick Lamar and his backup dancers getting out of a 1980s Buick GNX and onto a stage resembling a giant PlayStation controller. The opening was a portion of the unreleased song "Bodies". Samuel L. Jackson appeared in a recurring role as Uncle Sam, who provided satirical commentary and advice to Kendrick between songs to illustrate the spirit of America. Lamar initially teased a performance of "Not Like Us," playing the beat and stating "I wanna play their favorite song, but you know they love to sue." Lamar played "Luther" and "All the Stars" with SZA before returning to "Not Like Us." Professional tennis player Serena Williams, who shares Lamar's hometown of Compton, made a cameo appearance as a dancer doing a crip walk during "Not Like Us", a reference to Williams performing a similar dance after her victory at the 2012 Summer Olympics, for which she faced criticism. Williams's appearance was also received as a diss towards Drake, with whom she was rumored to have dated several years earlier. The performance was capped off by "TV Off" with Mustard coming out as a special guest, finally with Lamar "turning the TV off" and the words "GAME OVER" being displayed through crowd wristband lights.

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