Did Lil Wayne star in a Gatorade commercial before Kendrick Lamar? Viral claim explored

A viral claim that Lil Wayne starred in a Gatorade commercial before the Humble singer Kendrick Lamar is getting circulated on social media. This claim came in after Gatorade featured Kendrick in their recent commercial, which was released on April 18, 2025.

After the news of Kendrick making history came out, it quickly spread on social media. Along with this news, the claim that Lil Wayne was the first to feature in the Gatorade is now going viral.

For context, Lil Wayne did a voiceover narration in the 2009 Gatorade ad, which was titled 'What's G?'

Was Lil Wayne the first artist to appear in a Gatorade ad before Kendrick Lamar? Claims explored

Gatorade, the sports-themed food and beverage company, on April 18, 2025, released a commercial on their official YouTube channel. This commercial features Kendrick Lamar, in which he does a narration and physically appears on the screen.

This achievement makes Lamar the first artist to be featured in a Gatorade ad. As the ad came out, it gained traction on social media, following which a viral claim was made. As per the claim, Lil Wayne was the first artist to appear in a Gatorade ad, not Kendrick.

However, the claim does not stand true, and that's because in 2009, Gatorade did an ad in which Lil Wayne did a voiceover narration but did not appear on the screen. This ad was titled What's G?" It was a marketing campaign and featured athletes like Venus Williams and Michael Jordan. Hence, Lil Wayne only did a narration for the ad.

On the other hand, the ad that was released on Friday has Kendrick Lamar doing a voiceover narration and also physically appearing on the screen alongside Shedeur Sanders and Jason Tatum, among others. The ad is titled Lose More. Win More. As per the claim, Lil Wayne and Kendrick were involved in the same capacity in the ad, which is far from the truth.

In the recently released ad, Kendrick Lamar gives a motivational speech, and the background music is his track, Peekaboo, from his sixth studio album, GNX. In the ad, Kendrick appears in the opening shot when he starts the narration, then in between shots, and also in the end, where he ends the narration with the message that losses can fuel bigger wins.

The ad has cameos from athletes such as the Slovenian NBA player Luka Dončić and the WNBA players Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson. In a statement to Sports Business Journal, Anuj Bhasin, the CEO of the company, explained why he chose Kendrick in the commercial. He said,

''because of his mindset of hard work, resilience, and pushing boundaries.''

Kendrick Lamar’s cameo in the Gatorade ad marks a historic milestone, making him the first artist ever to be featured in one.

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