Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Co-Managing Editor
If there was anyone we could count on to give us the most show-stopping celebration of black history month we have ever seen, it was Kendrick Lamar.
February 9th, K. Dot performed at his much anticipated second Super Bowl performance and first solo show. Starting with a slow rhythmic presentation before shifting into an all-out masterclass, coupled with Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam for some unique storytelling, Mr. Duckworth (unlike the Chiefs) did not fail the massive expectations around audiences’ exultant anticipation of the show.
In fact, Super Bowl 59 became the most watched Super Bowl in NFL history in large majority due to Lamar’s halftime performance. Despite the game being a snoozefest with the Eagles crushing the Chiefs 40-22, over 128 Million people tuned in to watch halftime show and the game (although one would significantly outclass the other).
Still, Kendrick Lamar’s performance was more than just a football halftime show. It was an artistic expression of Kendrick’s intrinsic persona and an exuberant celebration of the values and history of Black History Month.
For starters, Kendrick is the first ever person to tell a story through his actual show and performance. With the previously mentioned Samuel L. Jackson entertaining as Uncle Sam, Lamar skilfully narrates the story of “The Great American Game” through images, narration by Jackson, and most importantly his music.
When Kendrick came out with songs like “Squabble up” and “Walked out murals”, Uncle Sam came in telling Kendrick to turn down and not be so “loud” or so “ghetto” -a reference to America’s history of forcing black entertainers to conform to popular white norms and customs.
With that in mind, Kendrick switched it up into his song “Humble” forming a disconnected American flag symbolic of America’s growing social and cultural divide. With the first super bowl cast of entirely black dancers and performers, this choice further adds to Lamar’s narrative and artistic vision.
With songs “DNA” and “Euphoria” Kendrick further doubles down on his “eff you” approach to America and Uncle Sam while simultaneously celebrating his heritage and past year in music.
With some creatively directed and unique sequences of “man at the garden” and “peekaboo”, Kendrick showed a creative, highly TV-focused presentation rather than a typical crowd-focused mosh pit.
After Kendrick calms it down with the melodic beauty of “luther” and “All the stars” featuring one of the most popular black singers in the world with SZA, Uncle Sam praises him but Kendrick makes it clear he is not capitulating to what Sam wants and goes into his most popular song “Not Like Us.”
Aimed entirely at fellow rap artist Drake, Kendrick takes his savagery to the next level by performing with fiery passion simultaneously humiliating and embarrassing both Drake and Uncle Sam, reaping every minute of it with a devious smirk on his face.
Finally, Kendrick performed “tv off” bringing out DJ Mustard and telling the audiences it was over and to turn the tv off. Americans seemed to listen to him as over 5 million people quite literally turned their tv off after the show ended, too disappointed with the game.
Every single thing Kendrick did in his show was some sort of metaphor, symbol, or statement about Black culture and the music industry as a whole.
In an increasingly bigoted and hateful nation, much of his performance flew over peoples heads unable to understand its deeper meaning of significance. Nevertheless, Kendrick performed a halftime show unlike anything we have ever seen.
On top of that, he did not code switch, he did not compromise, but he disregarded the haters and did everything his way. With Serena Williams crip walking during the performance to top it off, Lamar has validated and surpassed the expectations around him while once again asserting his place as one of the most influential Black artists in history, in quite possibly the greatest single year of music by any artists we have ever seen…