It’s been around two weeks since America was graced with Kendrick Lamar’s socially challenging Super Bowl halftime performance and truly, I can’t stop thinking about it. Now, the internet has been obsessed with the obvious ongoing beef between Canadian rapper Drake and Lamar, saying things like “Kendrick made me realize I’m not hating to my fullest potential” and, “Drake’s lawyers were sitting waiting to send another lawsuit”, or giggling at the fact that the whole stadium was screaming “A-minor” during the diss track “Not Like Us”.
But there was also a glaring political and cultural message being presented through the show, like which many of his performances do. As a Pulitzer Prize winner, Lamar knows how to create art, keep people engaged, and convey a strong message. So, as a big fan of this halftime show, I wanted to take a look at the key political messages he includedstrewn throughout this show.
The Great American Game
The main theme of the performance is the idea of the “American game,” which many Black Americans have been forced to play throughout their livfes. This game is literally symbolized stage- wise by the square, circle, X, and triangle stages set up, reminiscent of a Playstation controller. This, along with the lights in the crowd spelling out “Start Here”, “Warning. Wrong Way” and “Game Over” show a clear analogy through video game terminology.
Now, the game itself is being played between Lamar and “Uncle Sam” played by Samuel L. Jackson. Uncle Sam is trying to keep Lamar on the path that society has pushed, but however, Lamar is toying with Uncle Sam and ultimately wins the game through putting political messaging behind good music.
Choreography duality
Much Lots of the choreography throughout the performance changes tone with each song. For songs in which American society would deem as appealing to the masses, such as “All the Stars”, or songs that are telling Lamarhim to stay quiet, like “HUMBLE.”, the dancers usehave synchronized, robotic, and emotionless moves which show that they are more systematic songs to Lamar.
In comparison, songs that criticize America or celebrate Black culture, such as “Not Like Us” or “tv off” have more free and big movements. This symbolizes Lamar’s feelings, as well as the feelings of many marginalized groups in America, feelings and represents messages being stifled by what the American masses consider appropriate.
“The revolution ‘bout to be televised. You picked the right time, but the wrong guy”
This has been interpreted in two main ways by the public. Some people believe Lamar is addressing the turmoil that is currently going on in our political sphere. It’s the right time for change, but he believes that America picked the wrong president, Donald Trump. A lot of viewers have gone with this interpretation as the president was in attendance at the game. However, the other theory seems more likely to me.
Others think Lamar’s performance is a revolution which can be seen by millions of people through America’s biggest televised event. He claims that America is falling apart and now is the right time to make changes. But, Lamar claims he’s the “wrong guy” as he will call America out and more. If they wanted a simple performance, he is not the one. To me, this theory seems more likely to be the case.
“40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music”
This line was talked about heavily after the show and was even, it even being one of the top Google searches the next day. While transitioning into the song “Not Like Us”, Lamar mentions “40 acres and a mule” which was what enslaved Black Americans were promised they the agreement that the freed slaves would receive this as reparations for slavery, approved by former President Abraham Lincoln. But this agreement was broken by Lincoln’s successor Andrew Johnson, and it was taken back from the slaves.
Lamar uses this to illustrate that America has constantly let down the Black population and wants to keep them quiet. But Lamar still wants them to take accountability and provide reparations. And saying “this is bigger than the music” shows that even though people love to sing his popular songs and profit off of him, he needs them to take actual responsibility for their actions. To quote my favorite song, “Hey Ya!” by Outkast, “Y’all don’t hear me, you just wanna dance”.
After going through and making more sense of what Lamar was trying to say, it truly made the performance more enjoyable. And through this, no one has an excuse to say they “didn’t get it”. Do they not get it or do they not want to understand?
