Prior to his superbowl performance, Kendrick Lamar was fresh off of winning 5 grammys for his hit song “Not Like Us” and was more than prepared to perform on the big stage. “Being in the now and being just locked-in to how I feel and the energy I have now, that’s the L.A. energy for me,” he said on Feb 19 at a press conference hosted by Apple Music. “That’s something I wanted to carry over to New Orleans and for the world to see.” And that is what Lamar did.
Before that, Lamar was not unfamiliar with this stage. In 2022, Lamar performed in a section of the halftime show alongside a variety of music icons; Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and more. Although Lamar was among many legendary icons, he ensured that people remembered his part of the show. He played songs like “M.a.a.d City”, “Alright”, and even did a collaboration performance of “Forget about Dre” with Eminem and Dr. Dre
While Lamar had the main spotlight this year, SZA played a major role in the show as well. The most remarkable part of her side was when she performed “All the Stars” with the stage revolving around her, including the people parading around her. She showed off her vocals alongside Lamar, performing side by side during “Luther” while wearing a red outfit that juxtaposed Lamar’s blue outfit.
Nevertheless, Lamar ensured that his performance was meaningful by leaving multiple messages and double entendres sprinkled throughout his performance. With President Donald Trump in attendance, Lamar started his performance with a narration by Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam. This in itself is a message: a symbol of patriotism and freedom for white America was being played by a black man, thus creating a statement in a place where many in power are white.
Lamar also gave a visual representation of America today through his creative set. We can see multiple dancers get out of the car together but then chaotically separate, alluding to America’s current circumstances, in which eventually the dancers form an image of the American flag, but split in half. To add on, Uncle Sam disapproves of Lamar by stating that he brought his home boys with him and his life was “deducted one point”. This illustrates America’s disapproval of his community being together so that they can target them much more easily.
Furthermore, Lamar also mentions a famous term from the era of the Civil War. Lamar says, “40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music.” This was referencing when after the civil war, African Americans who had been just freed had been promised 40 acres and economic help after, in which they never received. Lamar essentially told the audience that his performance was more than just music, it was a statement to America of what the truth is in which African Americans are still being discriminated against.
Although Lamar’s performance was meaningful, many argued that this halftime show performance wasn’t great and that they expected more. “I liked the messages he did, but the set and overall performance was too minimalistic to me,” Adrian Popoca, a junior, said. This is what is being shared upon frequently online as many argue that past halftime performances have been better. “I wish Baby Keem came out,” Erick Caldera, another junior, said.
Then again, this actually has happened the past few halftime performances, with many filing complaints against Rihanna in her 2023 performance. Actually, many would be appalled to find out that Lamar pulled the most viewers for a halftime performance ever, with around 133 million viewers watching. Whether you were a fan of Lamar’s work or not, it cannot be denied that Lamar put the thought and effort into his performance as he implemented messages within his set while maintaining some fun into it.
