To most artists, the Super Bowl halftime show is a huge opportunity to get their names out there and promote their music, but for Kendrick Lamar, he used it as an opportunity to stand up for injustice. In his own words, “this is bigger than music.”
With President Trump in attendance, he used the stadium-sized stage to deliver much needed political messages for the world to hear.
Lamar’s dancers were dressed in red, white and blue, forming an American flag and marching in sync throughout the performance. The dancing was both freestyle and coordinated, captivating that ‘90s hip-hop vibe.
Lamar performed songs from his most recent album, “GNX,” and performed older songs from his previous albums while Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, interrupted his set periodically. He delivered lines in between songs that protested racism through defiance and the violence towards black communities; “revolution is about to be televised,” and “ do you really know how to play the game?”
Lamar then performed his hits “squabble up,” “HUMBLE,” “DNA” and “peekaboo(feat. azchike).” Throughout his performance he teased his song “Not Like Us.”
“I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue,” Lamar said.
The song is a part of months-long beef with rapper Drake that has led to complicated legal cases and speculation if he was going to go through with performing the song.
After, he was joined on stage with SZA, performing their songs “luther (with SZA)” and “All The Stars (with SZA).”
Lamar gave the people what they wanted and sang “Not Like Us,” with the whole stadium erupting in cheers and over 70,000 people echoing the popular line “A Minor.”
Serena Williams, tennis player and rumored to be Drake’s ex-girlfriend, popped out during the song and danced for a minute on stage, representing Compton where she and Lamar both are from.
One of the 400 field members who was dancing with Lamar pulled out a flag with the words “Gaza” and “Sudan” written on it, security detained the dancer and it wasn’t shown on camera.
Lamar ended off his performance with his song “tv off(feat. lefty gunplay),” bringing out DJ Mustard during his line in the song.
Lamar’s Super Bowl performance was anticipated by everyone, whether he would say the word “pedophile” in “Not Like Us” despite there being an active lawsuit in effect for that very line, if he would address Trump knowing he was of attendance, or what songs he would choose to play.
In an era where artists are as much political and social commentators as they are entertainers, Lamar once again proved that his presence alone is enough to command the world’s attention.
