By: Gianna McMahon
Kendrick Lamar’s record-breaking halftime show performance left many viewers with a mix of emotions; for many, the feeling was disdain against his famous competitor, Drake. Over one hundred and thirty-three million halftime show viewers, made his performance the most watched Apple Music halftime show in history, allowing for Lamar’s music to reach audiences that it never had before. His viral diss track on Drake, called “Not Like Us,” was the star of the show prompting the entire crowd to harmonize on one particular lyric: "a minor." However, many hidden political statements were imbedded into his performance that was shadowed by his diss track and his leather clad collaborator, SZA. His 13-minute and 25-second show spoke volumes about the American social order, on the biggest stage in a purely artistic way.
To begin the performance, Samuel L. Jackson was introduced as Uncle Sam, the personification of the United States of America. Dressed head to toe in American flag colors, Jackson began the show calling it “The Great American Game.” The stage lit up with video game control buttons, and the crowd lit up with “Start Here.” Some in the crowd recognized the stage as that of "Squid Game," a popular Netflix show, which ultimately represented capitalism's exploitation of the poor. After a few seconds of his music, Kendrick Lamar stopped and stated, “The revolution about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” This statement could mean a plethora of things, and diving deeper into the performance will prove Kendrick’s reasoning for his thought provoking performance.
Following Kendrick’s first song in the halftime show, Uncle Sam interrupted and criticized his music by saying “No no no… too loud, too reckless, too… ghetto.” These strong words coming from Jackson, who represented the country, ultimately represented the feedback that Kendrick’s music style has received over many decades. This statement highlighted many stereotypes surrounding Black Americans and artists, and genres such as hip hop and rap. Jackson’s character attempted to threaten and silence Kendrick’s expression of political views through his lyrics. Uncle Sam asks Kendrick if he “knows how to play the game,” and if so, “tighten up.” He’s essentially questioning if Kendrick understands his controversial impact, and how it can affect him. “Playing the game,” is pleasing those in power and playing the game that “white America” expects. Meanwhile, Kendrick’s music is heavily influenced by social order and injustices. So he’s doing anything but “tightening up,” in their eyes.
Once Lamar began his most famous song, "Humble," his backup dancers stood aligned with an American flag and eventually split down the middle to reveal him. Although this can easily be justified as a performance enhancer, it’s also a significant display to show the division in our country. The divide between Democrats and Republicans, especially with this past election in November, has only grown. It’s challenging to come back together as a whole country with such a framework. It was no coincidence that the first sitting president of the United States to be in Super Bowl attendance, President Trump, attended with a halftime performance marked by red, white, and blue.
Furthermore, Lamar played three more of his songs and was joined by a group of background dancers, and yet again, Uncle Sam interrupted. He highlighted the fact that Lamar “brought his homeboys with him,” and was yet again scolding Lamar for not staying in line. He ended his interruption with “Scorekeeper, deduct one life.” This terminology is used to reference the video game theme throughout the halftime performance as a whole, but is an unfortunate reality in America’s society. Jackson was insinuating that since Lamar was not behaving properly under American stereotypical standards, there would be punishment for acting out of line. This symbolized how Black people specifically are treated in this country if they don’t “behave properly.” Ultimately, there are many ways Black Americans are chastised, but Jackson highlighted losing one's life as the ultimate penalty.
Lamar then performed two songs with SZA, on the more delicate side, and softer spoken with a different kind of melody than Lamar previously performed. Following the end of their songs together, Uncle Sam congratulated Lamar for finally giving America the type of music that the people want: “calm” and “nice” music. This further embedded the stereotypes against certain genres of music as well as Black artists, by only approving those genres of music. Right before Lamar began the soundtrack for his famous diss track, Uncle Sam warned him to not “mess this up,” and then was silenced by the very recognizable beat.
Right before the biggest and most memorable part of his halftime show, Kendrick Lamar stated “40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music.” This specific quote has an extreme amount of important historical context. "Forty acres and a mule" refers to a promise to freed African American families following the Civil War. Four hundred thousand acres of confiscated confederate lands were to be divided into 40-acre plots for these families. However, with the inauguration of President Andrew Johnson, these reforms were reversed. "Forty acres and a mule" became a symbol of unfulfilled hopes of formerly enslaved Black Americans for economic independence. It served as a reminder of the empty promises made to African Americans, as Lamar highlighted current injustices.
In the middle of Lamar’s “Not Like Us” performance, the camera panned to an overview of the entire stage, providing a view of all but a circle of white dressed backup dancers falling to the floor, appearing motionless. The circle is within the group of dancers, and these minor details are significant. The circle symbolized the “inner circle” of people surviving in this corrupt world, normally those who are wealthier and have political power because of it. Not only that, but those specific dancers happened to all be dressed in white, showcasing white privilege that still exists in our country today, and how it leaves others around them at a clear and unfair disadvantage.
In Lamar's teaser of GNX, only one minute into his halftime show, he rapped “You would not get the picture if I had to sit you for hours in front of the Louvre.” Lamar is well aware of his genius use of poetic and artistic devices to get his message across, and that these symbols would go right over most American’s heads. But it’s important that when one of the most influential hip hop artists utilizes his platform, on the biggest stage, we sit down and listen.
Comments