While the NFL is busy preparing for Justin Timberlake’s halftime performance at the 2018 Super Bowl, the NCAA Championship is powering up with Top Dawg Entertainment’s rap VIP Kendrick Lamar as the performer at the inaugural College Football National Championship halftime show. 

Announced by ESPN on Tuesday (December 19), Kendrick will take the stage with a handful of hits from his Grammy-nominated 2017 opus, DAMN.

The performance will take place at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park on a first-come, first-serve basis as a free, non-ticketed event. Amazingly, Kendrick is not only the first hip-hop act to perform for the yearly occasion, but the first halftime performer in the history of the game, period.  

“Having the opportunity to perform at halftime of what will surely be the best game of the year between two deserving universities is truly an honor,” K-Dot reportedly stated. “Thank you, ESPN, for having me be the first halftime performer ever at the College Football Playoff National Championship.”

President of ESPN global sales & marketing Ed Erhardt returned the honor to Kendrick, deeming him the “hottest performer of the moment that would usher in this new era for the national championship game.”

Big humble moves.

Tune in to the CFP National Championship on January 8, 2018, at 8 p.m.