Depending on one’s perspective (rose-colored or unfiltered) of the performance that Kendrick Lamar delivered at Super Bowl LIX (which many Americans will need translated to “fifty-nine”), it was one that could be perceived as “playing it safe” when it came to political statements. Oh, of course there was plenty of politicking and baiting when it came to his ongoing (no contest) rap battle with Drake. But with regard to “sticking it to The Man,” Lamar fell somewhat short compared to Halftime Show performers past (and that even includes the usually apolitical Jennifer Lopez during her joint show with Shakira in 2020). And maybe even compared to the lone protester who managed to infiltrate the “stage” long enough to wave a Palestinian flag; the moment captured ad nauseam on social media by the spectators in the stadium.
However, those defending Lamar’s honor might argue that a hyper-awareness of the only other Gemini in the world more vindictive than himself—Donald Trump—being in the audience could have affected his willingness to be overtly “anti.” Instead, Lamar opted for subversion—starting with Samuel L. Jackson in the role of, who else, Uncle Sam. Introducing the show in his signature lilt, “Uncle Sam” announced, “Salutations, it’s your Uncle Sam. And this is the great American game!” While Lamar might be referring to the metaphorical game of “succeeding” in the United States, he made it literal thanks to art director Shelley Rodgers helping bring his game vision to life by transforming the field to look like it has the same buttons on it as a PlayStation joystick.
From there, Lamar appeared atop a GNX (not his own) as a nod to his latest album of the same name. Delving into a verse from “Bodies,” an as-of-yet unreleased track Lamar used to tease GNX back in late ’24, the rapper made it clear from the get-go that he wasn’t necessarily going to be playing “all the hits,” as most other headliners are known for doing. Including the ones that Lamar co-headlined with back in 2022: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige. And during that “tour of Super Bowl duty,” Lamar was almost just as omnipresent, offering up “M.A.A.D City,” “Alright” and then joining in for renditions of “Forgot About Dre,” “Lose Yourself” and “Still D.R.E.”
Three years on, it’s easy to see that Lamar got well-acquainted enough with the NFL environment to run circles around it—even if his backup dancers were doing most of the running this time around. Starting from the moment they popped out of the GNX in droves, turning it, effectively, into a clown car (and revealing their red and white ensembles to be decidedly familiar… *cough cough* Rihanna’s 2023 Halftime Show backup dancers). But “God” or whoever knows that Lamar is no stranger to being surrounded by clowns, which there was no shortage of at Caesars Superdome—including the Orange One and his expected goon squad, all of whom were bedecked in Patrick Bateman attire that was, let’s say, antithetical to the vibe of a football game.
Though, of course, it’s not as though the Orange One would take a page from Taylor Swift’s more casual, laid-back look for the event (a white tank top and crystal-embellished denim shorts)—particularly since he once oh so maturely declared, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” on Truth Social in September of ’24. Even so, the pair likely doesn’t have the same level of “bad blood” as Lamar and Drake right now, with the latter unremittingly trolled by Lamar despite speculation that he might not sing “Not Like Us” amid the latest lawsuit Drake has lobbed against him for it: defamation.
In any case, it was apparent that Lamar wasn’t really afraid of anyone during this show, not Drake or the Orange One—this made evident in the “Bodies” lyrics, “Started with nothing but government cheese, but now I can seize the government too.” But more than “seizing the government,” Lamar seized on the idea of the American dream for this performance. Playing up the notion that it’s a rigged system one must know how to “game.” Which is part of why “Uncle Sam” keeps appearing in between certain songs to give him “helpful hints” like, “No, no, no, no. Too loud, too reckless, too…ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?” This said after “Squabble Up,” which then leads into “Humble,” arguably the only other truly major “hit” in the setlist apart from “Not Like Us,” which Lamar stashes away until the near end. And as his backup dancers—some of them now wearing the necessary head-to-toe blue for the purpose—form into an American flag shape, it takes on a new meaning for Lamar to sing (in censored form), “Bitch, sit down/Be humble”—almost as if trying to “subtly” remind Americans that hubris is so often the greatest source of one’s downfall.
As the dancers break up the flag to scatter and scurry along the field so that Lamar can then transition into “DNA” (also from the DAMN. album), Rodgers’ statement about the show comes to mind: “I think the was symbolic, his way to reach young people. A lot of it is showing his journey, traveling through the American dream.” And as any non-rich, non-white male can tell you, that “journey” is usually more nightmare than dream. Hence, the resonance of “DNA” lyrics like, “I got hustle, though, ambition flow inside my DNA.” One would have no other choice but to after growing up in Lamar’s poverty-stricken circumstances. This being why Lamar is considered to represent that coveted American dream of going from “rags to riches,” of “making a bitch” out of the circumstances he was born into the same way he has of Drake. Targeted with the next song Lamar sings, “Euphoria,” which came out prior to “Not Like Us.” The lyrics Lamar is sure to emphasize during this moment are, “Have you ever played have-you-ever?/Okay, nigga, let’s play/Have you ever walked your enemy down like with a poker face?” The answer, for Lamar, is a resounding yes.
Continuing to promote his GNX era, Lamar then delivers a few verses of “Man at the Garden,” ripe with more American dream themes that remark on being unable to lose sight of the person he once was before the money hit, rapping, “Dangerously, nothin’ changed with me, still got pain in me/Flip a coin, want the shameless me or the famous me?/How annoying, does it angers me to know the lames can speak/On the origins of the game I breathe?/That’s insane to me/It’s important, I deserve it all because it’s mine/Tell me why you think you deserve the greatest of all time, motherfucker.”
As Lamar and his backup dancers then move into the X formation of the symbolic “controller” on the field, he proceeds to keep the GNX flow going with “Peekaboo,” a song that speaks to his boogeyman pop-out tendencies—especially when it comes to Drake. Who, again, is a blatantly key theme throughout this performance as Lamar builds up to “Not Like Us,” all while continuing to tease the audience about whether or not he would really sing it as he tells one set of dancers, “I wanna perform they favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” And while Mustard’s now signature beat does come on for a brief instant, Lamar decides to “slow it down” with “luther” featuring SZA, who also remains onstage to join in for the duo’s 2018 collab from Black Panther: The Album, “All the Stars.”
At the end of this more “chilled out” portion of the show, “Uncle Sam” appears again to, arguably, undercuttingly deride the current state of the nation with the comment, “That’s what I’m talkin’ about! That’s what America wants: nice and calm.” (As half the population is aware, that is not what they’ve gotten since a certain “changing of the guard.”) Of course, he’s also referring to Lamar persisting in pushing the limits of his Drake beef by actually singing the song that could get him in the most trouble of all. So it is that “Uncle Sam” cautions, “You’re almost there, don’t mess this—” But it’s too late. The opening notes to “Not Like Us” have begun again and Lamar refuses to stop. Complete with getting Drake’s ex, Serena Williams, to cameo/crip walk on the field (and, after all, Lamar wields her in the lyrics when he warns Drake, “Better not speak on Serena”—which Drake has a few times in his songs, never being “ideal” at handling rejection from women).
Surprisingly, though, Lamar doesn’t make that “serve” his finale, ending the show with “TV Off,” an ironic choice considering its message. Which is that people should stop allowing themselves to be distracted by the disruptive/dividing media and other frivolous images tossed out for mass consumption—like, well, the Super Bowl. But Lamar has long embodied a barrage of contractions and dichotomies…it would seem that is the undeniable Gemini way.
And, talking of dichotomies, the fact that Lamar, someone who actually pulled himself up by his bootstraps and learned to work around the rigged system that was designed to ultimately keep him in Section 8 housing for the rest of his life, should be in the same vicinity as someone so antithetical to the supposed meaning of the American dream—the Orange One—only added to the layers of this performance.
