He really did it.
When Kendrick Lamar was announced as the halftime performer for Super Bowl LIX, many began to speculate whether or not the Compton rapper would perform any songs from his beef with rapper Drake, including the Grammys 2025 Song of the Year “Not Like Us.” But he did that — and much more.
The setlist for Lamar’s performance lacked some of the 20-time Grammy winner’s biggest hits. We didn’t get a single track from “To Pimp a Butterfly” or “good kid, m.A.A.d city,” nor did we get any of his notable features such as on “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin or “goosebumps” with Travis Scott. Instead, we got an unapologetic cultural statement that will go down as one of the most influential performances in rap history.
This show wasn’t for the mainstream audiences, even with him playing “Not Like Us,” “tv off” and “HUMBLE.” On Sunday, Kendrick did what he’s done better than anyone for the past decade — he told a story. If it wasn’t clear by now, Kendrick is perhaps the best lyricist in the game right now, and on one of the world’s biggest stages, he was able to take it to a level we haven’t seen before.
Samuel L. Jackson was the most intriguing part of the production, having dressed up as Uncle Sam while providing paradoxical commentary. After Lamar played songs from his recent album “GNX,” Jackson looked into the camera and said “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto.”
Kendrick then hit us with some of his bigger hits “HUMBLE.,” “DNA” and “euphoria,” where he performed in the middle of a divided American flag of Black dancers — a clear metaphor reminding viewers that America was built on the backs of slavery. Jackson came out again after this, saying “the old culture cheat code… scorekeeper, deduct one life.”
After this, SZA joined Lamar on stage for some of their biggest hits together, including “All the Stars” and “luther,” to which Jackson responded “That’s what America wants, nice and calm… don’t mess this up.” That’s when Kendrick really did it.
In front of the entire country, Kendrick called Drake out, by name, with the audience filling in some of the gaps. We saw Serena Williams crip-walking on stage, the echoes of “pedophile” throughout the Caesars Superdome, the “a” minor chain and of course, the nastiest, most cynical grin we’ve ever seen. It’s a performance that will never be forgotten.
5/5 stars
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @theatlantic, Instagram
