Who is Lefty Gunplay, the Latino Rapper Featured on Kendrick Lamar’s ‘tv off’?
Mustard and Kendrick Lamar perform during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Last night (Feb. 9), the Super Bowl LIX halftime show happened at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA. While there were no Latine artists confirmed to perform with Kendrick Lamar, many social media users hoped he’d invite his album’s Latine feats, which include mariachi singer Deyra Barrera and Guatemalan-Mexican-American rapper Lefty Gunplay.
However, the halftime show came and went, leaving many Internet users wondering one thing: where was Lefty Gunplay? The emerging Guatemalan-Mexican-American rapper, who helped Lamar’s song “tv off” hit go viral, was absent during the Compton rapper’s medley, which ended with the aforementioned song. Though Lefty doesn’t have a full verse on the DJ Mustard-produced track, his famous outro, which includes him saying, “Sh*t gets crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious / Crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious,” became popular online.
Born Franklin Holladay, the 28-year-old hasn’t directly answered why he wasn’t invited, but he is reposting people online who are wondering the same thing. Notably, the rapper teased a Super Bowl appearance last month. But who is he exactly?
The rapper is a Baldwin Park native known for rapping about the realities he’s faced growing up in the San Gabriel Valley in California. His most popular songs on Spotify include “What It Iz” with OHGEESY, “It” with Shordie Shordie, and “Can’t Get Right” with JasonMartin. His influences include The Game and 50 Cent.
After serving nine years in prison at age 18, he came back to the music scene in 2023. Since then, he’s released four albums, including Rookie of the Year (2024), Famous Gangbanger (2024), PreSeason (2024), and Most Valuable Gangbanger (2024).
Moreover, although he wasn’t featured during Lamar’s halftime show, he’s using the popular outro to get his coins. Lefty is selling merchandise with “Crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious” written on it.
Up next, he’s scheduled to perform at Rolling Loud California on Sunday (Mar. 16).
Listen to “tv off” below.