Captivating or controversial?
That’s been the discourse following the annual 49th Super Bowl halftime performance by rapper and grammy award winner Kendrick Lamar, with some supporting his use of charged political themes and others criticizing the performance as overly confrontational.
The halftime show performance began with visuals of game controller buttons, and famous actor Samuel L Jackson introduced as Uncle Sam. During the introduction, Jackson said, “Salutations! It’s your uncle, Sam, and this is the Great American Game!” which set the tone for the symbolic and political elements for the rest of the performance.
While many on social media discussed and admired Lamar’s choice to involve critiques of American society, others, like some political commentators, believed that entertainment and political commentary should be separate.
“Kendrick Lamar’s 12 minutes of rap was basically a musical grudge match on the biggest stage in America,” said Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo, referring to the confrontational tone of the show.
Some supporters of Lamar’s performance saw this show as a powerful commentary on the country’s current political climate on one of the biggest platforms in American media, such as Sonoma State community members Dylan Harper and Estella Zea.
“Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show solidified that he wants to be viewed as a subversive figure, even co-opting the colors of the American flag and the character of Uncle Sam to create a striking red, white, and blue motif that fits with the previous themes of his lyricism and the charged political atmosphere,” said Communications and Media Studies Professor Dylan Harper, referencing Lamar’s use of patriotic imagery to express his critiques on American systematic oppression.
Sonoma State student Estella Zea feels a similar way. “[Kendrick] is always thinking about bigger themes, [he] kind of echoed that in his performance when he was addressing the Drake beef and said,‘This is bigger than the music,’ because it really is,” said Zea.
Lamar’s performance included a significant historical reference during his intro to his Grammy award-winning song, “Not Like Us” when he said, “40 acres and a mule this is bigger than the music,” a historical phrase which references the unfulfilled reparations promised to formerly enslaved Black Americans.
Zea said that the performance was incredibly bold and hinted at so many issues, it will cause audiences to analyze music’s deeper meaning in the future. “Musicians already know how intrinsically linked music and activism are,” Zea said, “Music is a form of education too. People can learn about things they didn’t know happened through song lyrics or their favorite musicians. Kendrick’s lyrics constantly reference aspects of American history that are currently trying to be censored.”
According to the NFL, this year’s Superbowl had over 120 million viewers.
