Kendrick Lamar graced the Super Bowl stage Sunday night in New Orleans to roaring applause and endless conversation.
Coming off his historic Grammy wins from last week and an overall astounding run of diss tracks and months in the limelight last year, Lamar had a lot riding on this performance and he didn’t waste a second of his screen time.
The performance was kicked off by none other than Samuel L. Jackson, portraying an Uncle Sam inspired character, both fitting and fortunate. Uncle Sam popped up intermittently throughout the show, acting almost as a personification of the United States’ storied history of aiming to silence and censor Black art and expression, even calling Lamar’s performance “too reckless, too ghetto” at one point.
But, of course, if you know Kendrick, this didn’t stop him from putting on an instantly memorable and invigorating show. While he dabbled in some of his past hits like “HUMBLE.,” “DNA.” and “All the Stars” with SZA, a lot of the setlist was comprised of his newer material from his excellent record GNX as well as the now infamous Drake disses.
The iconic “Not Like Us” was teased throughout the show until near the end, as it was full of unforgettable choreo, a surprise Serena Williams appearance and Lamar’s deadly rapping performance and facial expressions–even looking straight into the camera when he directly addressed the Canadian crooner.
The show ended with the viral Mustard produced track “tv off.” Truly an excellent exit for one of music’s most important voices and entertainers. I have a feeling this show will continue to be dissected and talked about for weeks to come, as Lamar always finds subtle ways to address and shine a light on ever-important and necessary issues the US has profusely failed to recognize.
Whether that be the American symbolism and heritage present on the dancers’ clothing or in their various formations or even from words spoken by Lamar himself, this country’s current, ever-expanding cultural divide is prevalent now more than ever and a voice like Kendrick’s helps clear a path for unity, equality and embrace, rather than censorship, erasure and isolation. “The revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.”
A generational performance from a once-in-a-lifetime artist.
