What's the meaning behind Serena Williams' ‘Not Like Us' surprise guest spot

Compton was represented well at Super Bowl 59.

Kendrick Lamar, a native of the California city, got some hometown support during his Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday night.

Rumors had been circulating online of a mystery guest joining Lamar during his show -- turns out it was none other than tennis legend Serena Williams.

Williams, also from Compton, briefly appeared onstage alongside the rapper during his performance of "Not Like Us." Sporting a bright blue tennis-like outfit, the 43-year-old delivered a crip walk onstage at the Caesar's Superdome.

Her surprise appearance immediately had the internet buzzing, and for more than one reason. Let's breakdown the meaning of Williams' "Not Like Us" cameo.

History with Drake

Kendrick Lamar and fellow rapper Drake have been publicly feuding for the past year, with the two mega stars of the hip-hop world trading diss tracks.

The back-and-forth came to a head when Lamar released "Not Like Us," a knockout punch that's resulted in a lawsuit from Drake against Universal Music Group, which represents both artists, and a handful of Grammy wins for the Compton rapper.

All eyes were on Lamar's halftime show to see whether he would break out "Not Like Us" once more to put the proverbial nail in the coffin on their beef. Not only did the rapper perform the billboard topping hit, he also brought out Williams, who reportedly dated Drake more than 10 years ago.

Performing the diss track to tens of millions of viewers and bringing out Drake's ex may surely bring an end to the ongoing back and forth between the two rappers.

Williams' dance

The 23-time singles Grand Slam champion may have only appeared on screen for a few seconds, but in that time she let her dance moves say a lot.

Williams showed off her crip-walking skills -- a dance move made famous by the Los Angeles Crips back in the 70s.

“Man I did not crip-walk like that at Wimbledon,” she said in a video shared on X, referencing her 2012 moves at the London Olympics.

Williams caught heat during those Olympic Games for dancing following the defeat of Maria Sharapova. "It was just a dance," she said at the time.

Serena Williams had to pop off with Kendrick during "Not Like Us"

Compton's finest 😤 pic.twitter.com/9OIvVcmNnR

— espnW (@espnW) February 10, 2025

The tennis legend also shared some behind-the-scenes content from her Super Bowl performance. Check it out below:

Let’s go Super Bowl halftime??! I died a little! 💃🏿 pic.twitter.com/MxEZTl7NUv

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 10, 2025

Let’s go Super Bowl halftime??! I died a little! 💃🏿 pic.twitter.com/MxEZTl7NUv

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 10, 2025