In early February, 37-year-old Kendrick Lamar debuted his cryptic performance at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. All eyes anticipated what he would perform after his continued feud with the music artist Aubrey Graham (Drake).
Fans guessed his performance would reference his rap “beef” and diss toward Drake. but no one expected the deeper statements about America Lamar’s performance would hold.
Some of the obvious disses toward Drake were related to the previous “beef” between them. In their feud, Lamar said Drake has had inappropriate relations with minors. His Grammy award-winning song “Not Like Us” holds statements regarding Drake’s alleged relationship with minors. These allegations, without any physical evidence, have pushed Drake to sue against his own record label for defamation. As a result, fans contemplated if the song would play.
Throughout Lamar’s performance, he teased the song twice before actually performing it. Even mentioning the lawsuit with the line, “I want to play their favorite song…but you know they love to sue.” Finally playing the track, which was the biggest diss out of the show. With lines such as “Hey Drake, I hear you like em’ young” or “Tryna strike a chord and it’s prolly A minor.”
“Not Like Us” was the overall biggest diss toward Drake at the Super Bowl as Drake expected him not to bring a personal fight to such a large audience. Drake had even threatened to sue over the spread of the song. According to Statista, an estimated 133 million viewers tuned into the Super Bowl acting as a gut punch to Drake.
Lamar’s diss toward Drake with actions more than words. Lamar wore a chain with a lowercase “a” which fans believed it referenced the “A minor” lyric from his hit song. This was just another way Lamar spread the content behind the song to further anger Drake. Graham’s exes Serena Williams and music artist SZA performed with Lamar. Not only did this imply they sided with Lamar view but Williams showed up to dance to the “Not Like Us.”
“Not Like Us” is typically regarded as the song that won Lamar’s rap feud against Drake. Williams dancing to “Not Like Us” at the Superdome acts as a way to dance on the grave Lamar dug for Drake. It only adds more fuel to the fire.
In his song “Family Matters,” Drake suggested Lamar didn’t aid his community with the line, “Don’t even go back to your hood and plant no money trees.” Lamar responded by featuring lesser known artists on his album GNX and paying respect to his old label Top Dog Entertainment. During the Super Bowl, Lamar brought out special guests DJ Mustard and SZA. These two were artists who collaborated with him in his latest album.Bringing them along was a way to show how appreciative he was of them.
The last big jab was when the show ended and Lamar played his song “tv off.” At the end of his set, he said, “Turn this TV off Turn this TV off.” Before his performance, Lamar had announced “No Round Twos” in a commercial for the Super Bowl. If Lamar had not previously won the battle with “Not Like Us”, this would be the final attack on Drake regarding their feud. At the end of the performance, Lamarwas directly telling Drake to turn his TV off and accept his loss.
Right as the performance ended, the stage lit up saying “Game over” cementing Aubrey Graham’s defeat. The other larger part of the performance was Lamar’s underlying statements about America. Throughout the show there was a timeline of events telling a story. It detailed Lamar’s fight against America’s societal standards.
He started his performance with actor Samuel L. Jackson’s appearance as Uncle Sam, who welcomed the audience stating “This is the great American game.” Later Lamar would state “The revolution about to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy.” Not even two minutes in and Lamar is making larger statements about America.
In a way, his Super Bowl show went against America’s conventions by already implying a deeper meaning. People see halftime shows as entertainment for fun and don’t associate them with larger meanings regarding the country itself. Super Bowl performances don’t often have a direct story attached to them which is why Lamar said “You picked the wrong guy.” He knows this isn’t what people want or what audiences expect but he wants to pursue this anyway.
He started his track “squabble up” and after it ended, Uncle Sam immediately scolded Lamar. The character Uncle Sam refers to it as “too loud” and “too ghetto.” This was a metaphor for America’s dislike of Black artists paying tribute to their culture or roots instead of conforming to what is mainstream.
Uncle Sam questioned Lamar saying, “Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?”
Lamar responds with his most popular tracks “Humble,” “DNA” and “Euphoria” to please the audience. His dancers wore red, white, and blue to create an American flag as Lamar stood between them. This acted as further symbolism toward how Lamar divides America with respect to his roots, displeasing them and then satisfying them with his popular songs.
Fans theorized the red and blue dancers represent gangs like the Bloods and Crips. As the dancers worked together, Lamar symbolizes uniting them with his music. His Pop Out Concert in LA previously united Bloods and Crips by bringing members of each gang on stage. While a theory, this would show his hope to bring America together rather than divide it.
After some of his most popular tracks, Lamar brings out the deepcut “Man at the Garden” from his album GNX. This track was a sort of proclamation and meditation of self-worth while also cementing his need to represent his culture. Uncle Sam noticed the dancers sitting in the back wearing white t-shirts and grills. This symbolizes that Lamar’s community stands behind him but Uncle Sam shames him for using “The old culture cheat code.” Uncle Sam’s comment represents American society’s distaste for African-American culture in the media. Instead, he considers it a cheat to gather an audience instead of using catchy hooks.
Lamar responded to Uncle Sam with the song “peekaboo” and teases “Not Like Us.” Instead of committing to how he wants to perform, he listened to Uncle Sam by playing his pop songs. SZA was brought out and the songs “Luther” and “All The Stars” were played to satisfy the audience. Uncle Sam congratulated Lamar but before Uncle Sam could finish Lamar took over the performance again.
This time he followed through and played his hit song “Not Like Us”.
The song represents everything America despises about Lamar. Not only does the West Coast beat pay respects to his culture, the content speaks up against Drake for his alleged inappropriate relations. Not only does this song attack Drake, it warns others to stay away from similar celebrities. It calls out the inappropriate actions those in power take. Uncle Sam doesn’t want an artist speaking up about celebrity culture.
It goes against all the mainstream conventions but to Lamar it’s more than about himself.
Before starting the track he said, “40 acres and a mule this is bigger than the music.” The “40 acres and a mule” refers to the promise made to formerly enslaved African-Americans after the Civil War. In this performance, Uncle Sam is promising Lamar all the popularity as long as he doesn’t mess up the “American game.” As long as he listens to Uncle Sam, he is promised success. To Lamar, this was just like the false promise made after the Civil War. It’s just another way to suppress his voice and keep him content.
Playing “Not Like Us” was Lamar’s way of speaking up against something he felt was important even though others didn’t want to hear it. As “Game over” appeared on the stage, not only did Drake lose to Lamar but he lost the “American Game”. This was Lamar’s revolt against America and his choice to speak up about what he believes in.
Lamar is well known for his concept albums and songs that expand on larger meanings. His most popular albums include “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City” analyzing his upbringing and trauma, “To Pimp A Butterfly” revealing the complex experiences of being a Black man in America, and “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” exploring Lamar’s personal experience confronting his trauma. Now, this Super Bowl halftime show stands with his other work by displaying his personal battle against America. Lamar successfully incorporated his album structure into a Super Bowl performance. This performance with complex themes and rich storytelling constitutes Lamar’s concept of the Super Bowl.
