In a press conference prior to the Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar told viewers to expect his halftime show to be full of “storytelling.” Lamar’s performance was incredibly multifaceted, with different subliminal messages sprinkled throughout. The show was centered on two topics of interest to Lamar: his ongoing feud with Canadian rapper Drake, and a social and political commentary on American society.
The stage layout majorly assisted Lamar’s storytelling. It pays homage to PlayStation, which is evident by each corner of the stage occupied with the buttons of a PlayStation controller. Why Lamar modeled the stage after the controller is up to pure speculation. Some theorize it to reference the nature of American politics, where politicians manipulate the system like a video game. Others state it’s meant to encapsulate Lamar’s view of his personal life, believing it to function like a video game. Related to the previous speculation is that the layout represents Lamar’s ability to “play” the music industry better than his rivals, such as Drake and his OVO crew.
The show begins with Samuel L. Jackson dressed as a satirical version of Uncle Sam, introducing the audience to Lamar’s performance. Jackson’s manifestation of the personification is of important observation. The whole look is reminiscent of his character in Quentin Tarantino’s film Django Unchained. In the film, he played “Stephen,” who is a house-slave loyal to his owner. Stephen is an individual who is coaxed into the ideology that brought slavery into the American south. Jackson’s portrayal acts as a commentary on American society. He could be seen throughout the performance attempting to moderate Lamar’s performance, ensuring he conforms to the mainstream expectations of a halftime show performer, one full of enthusiasm and patriotism. It is evident when Jackson scrutinizes Lamar’s performance in certain segments.
“Too loud, too reckless and too ghetto,” Jackson says after Lamar’s performance of Squabble Up.
The first song Lamar performed was an unreleased track. As he’s performing, numerous individuals in red, white and blue clothing pop out of a 1987 Buick Grand National GNX. Speculation has emerged of the colors representing gangs inside the United States, specifically the Bloods, Crips and the Klan.
Lamar plays the following song “Squabble Up.” Opening the performance, Lamar references African American poet Gil Scott-Heron’s song “The revolution will not be televised.”
“The revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy,” Lamar proclaims.
In the song, Heron argues that significant societal change requires active participation from individuals, especially those under marginalization. To Heron, simply watching from the sidelines or through the media isn’t involving yourself in the revolution. Lamar adds a variation at the end of the quote, possibly taking a shot at President Donald Trump’s recent re-election. It’s worth noting that Trump was in attendance at the halftime show.
“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” – Gil Scott-Heron (In this interview, Heron explains what the song encapsulates.)
The role of the red, white and blue-clothed individuals becomes critical as they form an American Flag during Kendrick Lamar’s performance “Humble.” Some viewers speculate the formation to represent how American labor was largely contributed by African Americans. Others have speculated it to represent the current political and social division of the United States because of Lamar’s center placement during the formation, which divided the performers in half.
Halfway through the performance, Lamar yells, “Forty acres and a mule — this is bigger than music.” This line is a reference to General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Special Field Orders, No. 15 (series 1865). In it, he proclaimed that freed American slaves were to be allotted 40 acres of land and a mule to spur economic development. However, the United States, under President Andrew Johnson, quickly rescinded this order shortly after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. This resulted in many African Americans sharecropping as a way of survival, halting any form of economic growth for the group. As economist William Darity Jr. puts it, the ramifications of the order “provide the foundation for the calculation of the magnitude of reparations owed to black Americans.”
The line could also be a reference to African American filmmaker Spike Lee’s production studios, which bears the same name. After the performance, Lee went onto social media praising Lamar for his performance and the shout out.
Subliminal messages directed at Drake were also well-evident throughout the concert. For example, Lamar would repeatedly tease the audience with a short snippet of his viral diss track towards the Canadian rapper “Not Like Us.” In one instance, Lamar would even indirectly taunt Drake, referencing his current lawsuit against record label UMG for alleged defamation, harassment and artificial inflation of Lamar’s diss track.
“I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue,” Lamar says while teasing Not Like Us.
To take it even further, as Kendrick was performing the song, tennis star Serena Williams could be seen on stage dancing to the track. The inclusion of Williams is an integral part of the performance as Drake and Williams have a romantic history. In 2017, Williams married Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, prompting Drake to address this on his track “Middle of the Ocean, which taunted Williams and Ohanian. The following year at the ESPYS, Williams brought up the rivalry between Lamar and Drake, praising the Compton rapper, Lamar, and ridiculing Drake.
William’s performance was also important as she was criticized for doing the same dance 13 years ago at a Wimbledon game. After securing a win, she performed by crip walking on the court. The dance is associated with the Crips, a nationwide American street gang popular in William’s hometown of Los Angeles. Although the walk has negative connotations, the walk has been adopted by many famous LA rappers to represent the city’s culture.
Along with Lamar, R&B singer SZA co-headlined the performance. The duo played several of their smash hits, such as “Luther” and “All of the Stars.” In addition, Lamar’s longtime friend and producer of his Not Like us Record, DJ Mustard, was also seen performing with the rapper. After the performance, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles would continue their matchup. In the end, the Eagles would prevail, defeating the Chiefs 40 to 22, wrapping up an eventful Superbowl performance that will go down in pop culture history.
