Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX marked not only a contentious football rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles but a highly anticipated halftime show starring Kendrick Lamar. As the first solo rap headliner for the performance, many felt as though this show would be the victory lap over Canadian rapper Drake in their recent rap beef.
Lamar’s performance confirmed that he is in a league of his own, despite Drake’s failed attempt at questioning the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper. After alleging Drake’s musical inauthenticity and referring to him as a “culture colonizer,” Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was the final straw. The victory theme song won Lamar 5 Grammy Awards just over a week ago and cemented the song as the most-awarded diss track ever.
Thus, this halftime performance packed with Lamar’s series of double entendres and deep cuts at the old “Degrassi” star represented yet another nationwide triumph, complete with bold American symbolism.
The opening image of the show is Uncle Sam, played by Samuel L. Jackson decked out in an American flag-patterned suit. The selection of Jackson to play Uncle Sam, a cartoon which has historically symbolized American patriotism, was incredibly smart. His demeanor simultaneously referenced Uncle Sam and Uncle Tom, a Black caricature representing an enslaved overseer used as a pawn by white slave owners to reprimand other Black slaves. Known for his iconic role of Stephen, a loyal house slave, in Django: Unchained, Jackson’s embodiment of American politics of respectability in this performance paralleled how his worldwide fame has forced him to abide by these same politics.
Jackson welcomed the crowd to “the great American game.” This clear reference to the Super Bowl also alludes to the great game of respectability politics. Lamar is then required to play this game, portrayed by the PlayStation-style controller that glowed under his feet during the show.
The stage illuminated to show Lamar on the hood of a Buick GNX, the car inspiring the name of his newest album. Decked out in Crip blue, Lamar also sported a jacket and a lowercase ‘a’ chain from his media company, pgLang. He opened with a warning to the public: “The revolution ‘bout to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy,” referencing Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” arguing that the media must be involved in true social justice advocacy.
After transitioning into GNX’s thunderous “squabble up,” we got a stern warning from Uncle Sam, cautioning Lamar about being “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto,” representing the conformity expected of Black people in an increasingly divided America. This divisiveness is personified by the dancers during “HUMBLE.” who form an American flag bisected by Lamar as he mocks those who attempt to subdue him.
In his performances of “euphoria,” “man in the garden” and “peekaboo,” Lamar threw quiet jabs at Drake, stating that it’s “not big three, it’s K.D.O.T.,” a clear reference to his verse in Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.”
Features from SZA for “luther” and “All The Stars“ were highlights of the performance. SZA’s outfit, an all-red corset, laced pant and jacket set, complemented the night’s American emblems and countered Lamar’s all-blue outfit, alluding to the Compton gangs that dominated Lamar’s childhood.
“Not Like Us” was the performance America was waiting for. In the song’s opening, Lamar declared that “this is bigger than the music,” and that “they tried to rig the game but you can’t fake influence,” referencing Drake’s lyrical inauthenticity and Donald Trump’s previous allegations of election rigging (with Trump in attendance at the Super Bowl, of course).
In a shortened performance, Lamar strictly chose to sing the opening verses where he openly calls Drake a pedophile, smiling giddily at the camera as he addressed Drake by name with the 60,000-person crowd holding out the song’s iconic “A minor” lyric.
On top of addressing Drake by name directly, Lamar also featured Drake’s ex, Serena Williams, crip-walking to the record hit.
The song’s performance also featured the dancers lying lifelessly prior to the lyric “Beat your a– and hide the Bible if God watching,” symbolizing the uptick in police violence against Black people. Lamar even went as far as to use the stadium lights in his performance’s political messaging, shining “WARNING WRONG WAY” as a reference to the current political climate and the recently re-elected Trump.
The performance ended with GNX’s “tv off,” and the ending lyric of “turn his TV off” sent a final message to viewers across the world that his political performance was the most crucial part of the entire Super Bowl echoed by the lighting cast onto the crowd that read “GAME OVER.”
The performance was one laced with political messaging epitomic of the strife, anger and anxiety felt by minority populations after a Republican takeover of Congress and the White House. That being said, Lamar’s performance swiped past the opportunity to exhibit his older, more radical tracks which also showcase his indignation with the system.
By avoiding performing any song from Section.80, good kid, m.A.A.d city or To Pimp A Butterfly, Lamar snubbed many of the tracks that embody his discography’s inherently political nature, including “Wesley’s Theory,” “HiiiPower,” “King Kunta,” “i” and “m.A.A.d city,” all of which would have fit into GNX’s bass-heavy sound. The non-performance of “King Kunta” was especially unfortunate, as the quartet of Black women surrounding Lamar for the majority of the halftime performance were the background vocalists in the TPAB hit.
Lamar’s focus on his newest album and relishing in his defeat of Drake depreciated the political messaging that was primarily asserted with the vivid American colors. Thus, this performance that will go down as the only Super Bowl halftime performance with a solo rapper headliner will likely become more emblematic of the triumph of an already retired rap battle than an anti-Trump statement paralleling pro-American and pro-equality values.
