I feel obligated to preface this analysis with a warning: I (very unfortunately) don’t know Kendrick Lamar personally. I cannot say with full certainty that my interpretations of the Super Bowl halftime show are exactly what he meant to convey. It might be easier to dismiss it as entertainment with a red, white and blue theme, but I would like to offer a reminder that Kendrick Lamar has won a Pulitzer Prize for his album “DAMN.” He’s a storyteller. And on Sunday evening, he told the viewers a powerful story. It’s undeniable that his performance conveyed a message, and I’d like to break down my interpretation of that message.
Samuel L. Jackson starts off the show dressed from head to toe in red, white and blue garb, patterned with stars. He introduces himself as Uncle Sam—who, for those who don’t know, is a personified version of the United States, representing not just the government but the people. Typically, Uncle Sam is depicted as a grumpy old white man; think the “I want you for the US Army” poster, which the vast majority of people will no doubt be familiar with. Having a Black man play the character that symbolizes the entirety of the U.S sends a powerful message—our country is not primarily composed of wealthy white men. Have we known this? Yes. But it’s scarily easy to forget when we see the faces heading our industry, technology, economy and government. From the get-go, we know what Kendrick’s performance will be about: Black America.
Before Kendrick appears, Uncle Sam shouts out: “And this is the great American game!” At a surface level, he’s clearly referring to football—the classic American sport that had, according to Fox Sports PR, 126 million people tuned in last Sunday. But the entire show takes on more literal “game” imagery, with the stage being split up into four platforms reminiscent of PlayStation controls: a square, a triangle, an x and a circle. The game that Uncle Sam refers to is not football nor video games, but life under the American political system.
Super Bowl LIX marked a significant change from any other Super Bowl preceding it—President Donald Trump was present at the game, making it the first time ever a sitting President attended the live event.
His presence makes Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show all the more impactful and significant—not only was it a message to the audience and those watching at home, but directly to the president of the United States.
Kendrick is then spotlighted, and he starts with a rap from an unreleased song, “Bodies.” As he finishes the rap, dancers have emerged from underneath the stage in red sweatsuits, and the lights flicker as they bow to him and he sings, “The revolution ‘bout to be televised/You picked the right time, but the wrong guy.”
This line is a likely reference to “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a Black liberation poem and song written by Gil Scott-Heron in the 70’s. Kendrick’s “revolution,” so to speak, is being streamed across households in America. It certainly was the right time for a unifying and patriotic message. There is an air of uncertainty through the country, with every executive order under Biden being revoked and a host of new and bold policies being passed under the Trump administration, and an event like the Super Bowl is a great way to bring people together.
And most importantly: they picked the “wrong” guy because Kendrick’s performance wasn’t espousing patriotism at all. Rather, it critiqued the so-called American game and highlighted division in America rather than unity.
He transitions into “squabble up,” which I don’t think warrants a ton of analysis. I was 100% expecting him to play the song, seeing as it’s currently his fourth most streamed song on Spotify. But it was also cleverly placed—after a bold declaration regarding a revolution, he seems to want to ‘squabble up’ with the government.
As he finishes the chorus of “squabble up,” Uncle Sam interrupts, crying out: “No, no, no, no, no! Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto. Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!”
As we’ve established, Samuel L. Jackson’s Uncle Sam is Black America. But to be more specific, he represents a sanitized version of Black America—of what the standards established by generations of systematic racism wants it to be. Black culture, along with other cultures of other minorities, have historically been pushed down and oppressed. In modern times, Black culture is appropriated and “cleaned up” to adhere to an unjust societal standard for generalized use. For example, much of our generation’s slang, according to Pratt Institute Libraries, is derivative of African American Vernacular English. And yet, while certain parts of Black and other ethnic groups’ culture are adopted into the more popular culture, they are still ridiculed in their authentic form, and Uncle Sam telling Kendrick that he is “too ghetto” is symbolic of that.
Kendrick then begins to perform “HUMBLE,” during which dancers in red, white, and blue sweats line up around him in the shape of the American flag. He stands in the center, the flag split into two around him, representing divide in America. His transition involves a noise best described as an imitation of a machine gun, at which the dancers, previously neatly organized into rows, scatter into panic— a subtle reference at the gun violence present in America. From there, he launches into “DNA” and makes his way through the song without a pause. As the backtrack for “euphoria” starts, lights in the stands spell: “WARNING. WRONG WAY,” indicating that the American public chose the wrong way to proceed forward, resulting in our current political climate.
The transition into “man at the garden” has Kendrick standing next to a streetlight prop, with a gaggle of Black men behind him, sitting near the pole and nodding along.
Uncle Sam interrupts once more: “Ah, see you brought your homeboys with you. The old culture cheat code. Scorekeeper, deduct one life.”
The choice of words stays consistent with the overall video game analogy of performance, with terms like “cheat code” and “scorekeeper” adding to the allegory. The idea of a “culture cheat code” is attributed to Dr. Marcus Collins, and essentially means that having an understanding of a specific culture can prove to be advantageous. It’s relevant that Uncle Sam acknowledges this, as his recognition showcases how American politics and culture have used the so-called “culture cheat code” for decades to profit and make gains off of Black and minority cultures. But when a minority rallies with their group? When they try to organize against decades of injustice? We’ve seen the answer to that question time and time again. “Scorekeeper, deduct one life.”
The instrumental for “peekaboo” starts up with Kendrick now inside the stage with the x shape. He interrupts the song to converse with a group of his dancers, letting them know he wants to “make a move” and perform the crowd’s favorite song. The backtrack for “Not Like Us” starts, but quickly stops as he decides to “slow it down.”
Enraged by even the idea of “Not Like Us,” being played, Uncle Sam yells, “Oh, you done lost your damn mind!” Although “Not Like Us,” is a diss at Drake, notably calling him out for pedophilia, it also discusses how Drake (and in the context of this show, the government) isn’t properly representative of the Black community of America: he uses the culture to propel himself without contributing to it or being authentic, in the same way America often does. Sanitized America, Uncle Sam, doesn’t want Kendrick to deliver this message.
Luckily for him, Kendrick changes direction, opting to move into “luther,” during which SZA makes an appearance to sing her verse. They then start to perform “All the Stars,” which I found really interesting. Prior to the halftime show, I felt it was almost a guarantee SZA would appear, which also meant he had to sing more than one of his duets with her. I loved that they chose “All the Stars” for multiple reasons: firstly, the track was originally written and recorded for the “Black Panther” soundtrack, a movie that notoriously celebrates Black culture and discusses African-Americans in politics. Secondly, the song is undoubtedly a commercial song, reaching more than just the film audience—it debuted at #42 on Billboard Hot 100 in January of 2018, and rose to #7 within two months. That widespread popularity no doubt makes it palatable to the Uncle Sam character; but if you listen closely, the lyrics are representative of the show Kendrick was putting on. “Confrontation ain’t nothing new to me,” he sings. “I recognize your false confidence, promises,” referencing the government’s lies to the public, something he alludes to in a later line, as well. The line “Look at me crazy ’cause I ain’t invite you/Oh, you important? You the moral to the story? You endorsin’?/I don’t even like you,” could be interpreted as his thoughts on President Trump’s viewership of the halftime show.
Once they finish “All the Stars,” Uncle Sam expresses his approval: “That’s what America wants, nice and calm.” He warns Kendrick not to mess up, before his warning is interrupted by the intro music to “Not Like Us.” His face says enough about his indignation as he storms off.
Kendrick begins to once again discuss with the same four dancers as before. “It’s a cultural divide, I’ma get it on the floor,” he says, expressing his desire to address the divides in America openly, whether they be political polarization or the literal cultural divides. The dancers ask if he’s really about to do it, and he then delivers what I see as the most powerful line in the whole show: “Forty acres and mule, this is bigger than the music.”
Forty acres and a mule refers to a false promise made by the American government to formerly enslaved individuals after the Civil War. Similar to the line from “All the Stars,” this highlights the untrustworthy nature of the government and is a prominent example of how the Black community of America is, time and time again, done dirty by the American game. His playing “Not Like Us” isn’t just about dissing Drake on national television—it’s about delivering his message and reminding the American public that the government is not like them. The game masters are never on the player’s side. “They try to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence,” he says, expressing that no matter what propaganda is spread, the influence and efforts of the people will always triumph. The dancers around him encourage him to sing, and the “Not Like Us” track starts to play, for the first time in this show, uninterrupted.
I’ve already spoken to the layers behind “Not Like Us,” so there isn’t much to say here aside from the fact that it was, quite frankly, awesome. The crowd roars its approval as he starts singing. There is one moment where the majority of dancers fall to the floor, playing dead, and the only ones left standing are the ones in the inner circle of the bodies—an interesting bit of imagery reflecting on who suffers in American society (hint: it’s never the ones with power). Kendrick flashes a pearly-white grin at the camera when he name drops Drake. The entire stadium—and me at home watching—scream “A minor” with him. Serena Williams is crip-walking. It’s an all-around classic performance.
He ends the show with “tv off,” repeating the “turn this TV off” line over and over at the end of the song until the stage lights darken and smaller lights in the crowd spell “GAME OVER,” keeping with the video game theme right to the end. The repetition of the line is a clear message to the viewers at home.
Don’t stay idle. Turn off the TV. Don’t allow yourself to be manipulated, and stay true to your beliefs. Do what you can to fight back against the societal problems that plague America; most of which have been persistent over centuries.
There’s a thousand and one more things to be said about this halftime show, but I think it’s appropriate to end here. Sixty, seventy years from now, I can see some junior staring at a picture of Kendrick from this performance on their APUSH DBQ. Because without a doubt, this was a historical event— Kendrick utilized the national audience of the Super Bowl to deliver his political message in a clever, inspired and undeniable way. What we take away from this is up to each of us individually. Me, personally?
I’m turning off the TV following what will go down in history as an unforgettable show.
