Twenty-two-time Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar delivered an explosive halftime performance at this year’s Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, Louisiana. It reigns, in my mind, the best show in recent years but it’s a close fight with Rihanna’s in 2023.
Before we get into the performance, there is a degree of context that needs to be shared when it comes to speaking about Lamar and his approach to his art. I like to bring up and emphasize Lamar’s Pulitzer win as a testament to his penmanship and storytelling abilities, often recounting his own experiences as a Black man from Compton. Lamar is the first rapper to win a Pulitzer in the music category, which he won for his fourth studio album, “DAMN.”
Lamar’s politically charged lyrics have garnered criticism amongst conservative groups, however, they have more importantly served as beacons of resilience, exemplifying his tenacity to uplift Black voices in artistic spaces. One of his most popular songs, “Alright” from his third studio album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” addresses this resilience against racist, oppressive forces with the chorus often being used as a chant during Black Lives Matter protests. His performances have reflected the stories behind the lyrics, bringing the piercing songs to life.
This year’s halftime show opened with prolific actor Samuel L. Jackson. Clad in a red, white and blue outfit, Jackson introduced himself as “Uncle Sam Jackson,” and exclaimed, “This is the great American game.” Jackson made multiple appearances throughout Lamar’s performance, acting as the narrating force of the performance.
“Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto. Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?” said Jackson.
What made these comments from Jackson stand out to me was knowing the context behind some of Lamar’s songs, particularly “DNA” which contained a sampled clip from a Fox News segment where the broadcasters discussed Lamar’s BET Awards performance.
“This is why I say that hip-hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years,” said Geraldo Rivera. Racism is often disguised as criticism when it comes to Lamar and hip-hop as a genre in general. The genre is often depicted stereotypically as Jackson said, “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto.”
Since its development in the early 1970s, hip-hop has been critical toward the racial injustices Black America has faced. Many early hip-hop artists spoke out against issues such as police brutality, mass incarceration, the war on drugs and other social issues that still affect the Black population to this day. I find this piece of historical context to be crucial in order to further understand Lamar’s art and how it has helped shape modern American art as a whole.
The performance featured a whopping total of six songs from Lamar’s new album, “GNX” which was released on Nov. 22, 2024. Two songs from “DAMN” were also included in the performance along with two stand-alone singles and a song from the “Black Panther” soundtrack. The songs chosen were surprising to me, I expected a few songs from his older albums, however, he did not perform anything in his catalog past “DAMN.”
Grammy Award-winning artist SZA joined Lamar to perform their collaborative songs “Luther” and “All the Stars.” “Luther” is one of my favorite songs from “GNX.” Despite the current freezing temperatures in Boston, it’s almost as if I can feel the Texas sunshine on my skin whenever I listen to that song. Lamar and SZA’s onstage chemistry remains unmatched.
To tie it off, Lamar closed out the performance with arguably the most well-known song of 2024, “Not Like Us.” Mostly everyone with an internet presence knows the lore behind this particular song as it was written in a rap battle against global artist, Drake. The track amassed five Grammy wins last week, receiving two of the top awards.
One of the most notable moments of the night featured tennis champion and Compton native, Serena Williams dancing along to Lamar’s performance of the song.
Much of the attention right now is focused on the “beef” between the two artists, however, I think it is imperative to remember Lamar’s message behind the catchy diss track as one that expresses his protectiveness over hip-hop as a genre and his passion for the cultivation of Black voices through art.
