*The following article is the interpretation of the student journalist and does not reflect the views of the Madison Consolidated School Corporation, Madison Consolidated High School, or The Madisonian.
The most recent Super Bowl LIX ended with the Eagles winning 40-22. However, many people didn’t watch the Super Bowl for football; they watched it for the halftime show. It featured Kendrick Lamar, who recently released his album GNX, which has taken off. Many people weren’t too happy with the show because it didn’t have many visual effects and wasn’t as good as previous shows. However, Lamar didn’t want to appeal to the eye but wanted to send a message. He even stated, “This is bigger than the music.”
Before the show starts, you can see that the set is shaped like a PlayStation controller, showing how the government controls everything. Then, the buttons lit up to show they input a cheat code for Grand Theft Auto that grants you invincibility. At the show’s start, Samuel L. Jackson represents himself as Uncle Sam, the embodiment of America and its patriotism. Then, Lamar states, “The revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time, but the wrong guy,” which many believe possibly references the current presidential administration.
Lamar then sings “Squabble Up,” which means to get ready to fight or dance, but Uncle Sam comes back out and says that the music is too loud and “ghetto.” Uncle Sam said this because, during the revolution, America wanted the African American community not to show their culture but rather show how America wanted them to be.
Then Lamar plays “HUMBLE,” showing African Americans’ struggles in the USA and how they needed to be humble. But while he’s performing the song, the backup dancers are formed in the pattern of the American flag, symbolizing how America was built by the slavery of African Americans. Then, he performs “DNA.” to show his journey in America and his struggles while living in it.
Then Lamar sings his next song, “Man at the garden,” and says, “It’s important, I deserve it all because it’s mine; tell me why you think you deserve the greatest of all time.” In this verse, he asks why everyone tries to relate to the music even though they haven’t lived a life of it.
Before “Peekaboo,” Uncle Sam sees Lamar using a “cheat code,” telling the scorekeeper to deduct one life. Lamar sings “Peekaboo.” Then, halfway through the show, Lamar stops the show and asks the backup ladies if he should “perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” In this sentence, he referenced the controversial rap beef between Lamar and Drake Graham that ended in a lawsuit against Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us.”
Then Lamar says to start it slow by playing the songs he collaborated on with SZA and starts “Luther,” having Lamar in blue and SZA in red, referencing Crips and Bloods coming together over music. Then, they sang “All the Stars,” the song that was used to help promote the Marvel film Black Panther. After the song, Uncle Sam walks out again and says, “That’s what America wants—nice and calm.”
Before his next song, Lamar said, “40 acres and a mule,” alluding to the promise made to African Americans of 40 acres of land and a mule; however, that promise was broken. Then, after many people warned Lamar not to perform the song because it would’ve ended in a lawsuit against Drake, he started to sing “Not Like Us.” During the show, he looks at the camera and smiles, saying, “Say Drake” as an instigation towards Drake while wearing a chain with the letter “A,” symbolizing the lyrics of “Not Like Us.” During the show, they even got Drake’s ex-girlfriend, Serena Williams, to Crip Walk, even though her sibling passed away due to gang violence. The context of the song even symbolizes African American culture because Lamar is saying, “They are not like us,” stating how the rest of America can’t silence Black culture.
Then, after “Not Like Us,” he sings “TV off,” saying how the revolution was being televised. Then, at the end, he tells them to turn the TV off. Lamar is saying that people need to get into the entertainment industry rather than be consumers and watchers/listeners and get involved. He also had the message “Game Over” to take another jab at Drake by saying how he won the rap beef.
Even though this Super Bowl performance was criticized by some for its style, its message being too political or not political enough, the timing, or the audio quality, it’s hard to ignore that Lamar might have been communicating a subversive stance while still trying to appear mainstream. It may have been a good way to appeal to the younger generation to amplify his concerns, or maybe it was just to boost his sales, as evidenced by his overtaking the top spot on Spotify after his performance. The timing was also appropriate as the Super Bowl takes place in early February, the month that has been labeled Black History Month since 1976, while Samuel L. Jackson was the perfect candidate for Uncle Sam due to his outspoken nature and his coincidental first name.
