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<\/a>Multiple Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar delivered a groundbreaking 13-minute performance at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. The show has now become the most watched Super Bowl halftime performance in history, gaining 133.5 million viewers and surpassing the viewer totals for Michael Jackson\u2019s legendary show.[1]<\/sup><\/a> As the only solo rap artist to ever headline the Super Bowl halftime show, Lamar\u2019s performance was highly symbolic and unconventional, receiving both admiration and controversy.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Lamar\u2019s performance took place a week after he won a Grammy for Song and Record of the Year. Despite his record-breaking viewership and popularity, critics labeled it one of the worst halftime shows ever.[3]<\/sup><\/a> The backlash was particularly strong among conservative commentators and politicians who claimed the performance was difficult to understand and dismissed Lamar\u2019s lyrics as \u201cgibberish.\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a> Others argued that the songs were unrecognizable and accused the show of being exclusionary for featuring only Black dancers.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The performance began with a striking visual of the set, which was designed with the X, O, and triangle shapes from a PlayStation controller, alongside a sign reading \u201cStart Here.\u201d[6]<\/sup><\/a> Under the sign, an arrow pointed down to Lamar who was kneeling on a Buick GNX, the namesake of his recent album.[7]<\/sup><\/a> Iconic actor Samuel L. Jackson then appeared on screen, dressed as a modernized version of Uncle Sam.[8]<\/sup><\/a> Many interpreted this as a representation of America’s evolution, with a Black man now embodying a role traditionally associated with a white figure.[9]<\/sup><\/a> He introduced Kendrick Lamar by saying \u201c[t]his is the great American game,\u201d referring to football.[10]<\/sup><\/a> According to art director Shelley Rodgers, the set design incorporated both football and video game references which symbolized Lamar\u2019s journey through the American dream.[11]<\/sup><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lamar kicked off the show with the line \u201cThe revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy\u201d a reference to Gil Scott-Heron\u2019s 1971 poem \u201cThe Revolution Will Not Be Televised.\u201d[12]<\/sup><\/a> This phrase critiques the idea that real change comes from the people rather than from corporations or mass media. With current President Donald Trump in attendance, some viewed this as a direct attack given Lamar\u2019s past criticisms of Trump in his music.[13]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Lamar rapped his opening track, \u201cSquabble Up,\u201d he was abruptly interrupted by Jackson, who exclaimed \u201cToo loud, too reckless, too ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?\u201d[14]<\/sup><\/a> This moment foreshadowed the backlash Lamar would soon receive, echoing long-standing criticisms of Black artists who challenge mainstream American ideals.[15]<\/sup><\/a> His comment also reflects the criticism often directed at Black hip-hop and rap artists like Lamar, whose music frequently portrays the violence, poverty, and drug use they witnessed growing up in low-income communities. Undeterred, Lamar continued his set with \u201cHUMBLE\u201d and \u201cDNA\u201d both from his Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN.[16]<\/sup><\/a> These songs delve into themes of identity, racial injustice, and the struggles of being a Black artist in America.[17]<\/sup><\/a> The choreography featured all-Black dancers dressed in red, white, and blue, forming an American flag split down the middle by Lamar.[18]<\/sup><\/a> This effectively created a powerful visual representation of the country\u2019s cultural and political divide.[19]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, Lamar performed \u201cMan at the Garden,\u201d with dancers in streetwear nodding along beneath a lamppost, emulating the aesthetic of 1990s hip-hop culture.[20]<\/sup><\/a> Uncle Sam interrupted Lamar again by sarcastically remarking that he had brought his \u201chomeboys,\u201d calling them \u201cthe culture cheat code.\u201d [21]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> This critique conveys the hypocrisy of white America\u2019s selective embrace of Black culture by choosing to celebrate aspects of it while rejecting its roots.[22]<\/sup><\/a> Lamar continued the performance with a feature from SZA, performing their hit duet \u201cLuther\u201d from his latest album GNX and \u201cAll the Stars\u201d from the Black Panther<\/em> soundtrack.[23]<\/sup><\/a> Uncle Sam interrupts again with “That\u2019s what America wants\u2014nice, calm. You\u2019re almost there\u2014don\u2019t mess this…” before Lamar cut him off beginning chords of his recently grammy winning song “Not Like Us” and Uncle Sam walks off, frustrated.[24]<\/sup><\/a> This exchange reflects Uncle Sam trying to confine Lamar to a sanitized, acceptable version of Blackness tailored to the white gaze, however Lamar consistently rejects it and embraces his identity.[25]<\/sup><\/a>\u201cNot like Us\u201d is the infamous diss track in Lamar\u2019s viral rap feud with Canadian rapper Drake, which later escalated into a complicated legal battle.[26]<\/sup><\/a> Before performing his song, Lamar says \u201cForty acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music,” referencing the land and property promised to freed slaves after the civil war.[27]<\/sup><\/a> This direct reference highlights the longstanding systemic injustices perpetrated by the government against Black Americans.[28]<\/sup><\/a> Lamar ended his performance with \u201cTV Off,\u201d a song emphasizing themes of police brutality, racial stereotyping, and revolution. [29]<\/sup><\/a><\/sup> The track\u2019s repetitive lyric \u201cTurn this TV off\u201d tied back to the show\u2019s opening, reinforcing the message of Gil Scott-Heron\u2019s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.[30]<\/sup><\/a> Lamar urges the audience to break free from the distractions of television and entertainment, directing them to take definitive action.[31]<\/sup><\/a> Overall, Lamar\u2019s performance was more than the average Superbowl halftime show\u2014it was a bold, artistic, and political statement that sparked both admiration and outrage amongst the American people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [1]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/kendrick-lamar-performance-super-bowl-lix-most-watched-halftime-show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/sport\/other-sport\/kendrick-lamar-halftime-show-super-bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/international\/us\/kendrick-lamars-performance-at-super-bowl-rages-maga-many-say-it-was-the-worst-halftime-show-heres-why-they-were-outraged\/articleshow\/118121229.cms?from=mdr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [5]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/music-news\/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-halftime-show-symbolism-1236132476\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [7]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/theraidervoice.com\/12897\/arts-entertainment\/the-symbolism-behind-kendrick-lamars-halftime-show-performance\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [9]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [10]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.theroot.com\/the-complete-breakdown-of-the-symbolism-references-in-1851760266\/slides\/2<\/p>\n\n\n\n [11]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/music-news\/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-halftime-show-symbolism-1236132476\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [12]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.wowktv.com\/sports\/the-big-game\/6-hidden-messages-in-kendrick-lamars-super-bowl-performance\/amp\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [13]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [14]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.westword.com\/music\/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-setlist-weaved-a-story-of-revolution-23449014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [15]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/international\/us\/kendrick-lamars-performance-at-super-bowl-rages-maga-many-say-it-was-the-worst-halftime-show-heres-why-they-were-outraged\/articleshow\/118121229.cms?from=mdr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [16]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/kendrick-lamar-wins-the-pulitzer-prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [17]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [18]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/music-news\/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-halftime-show-symbolism-1236132476\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [19]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/theraidervoice.com\/12897\/arts-entertainment\/the-symbolism-behind-kendrick-lamars-halftime-show-performance\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [20]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.andrews.edu\/life\/student-movement\/issues\/2025-02-14\/ae_kendrick.html.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [21]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [22]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [23]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.vibe.com\/lists\/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-lix-halftime-show-setlist\/all-the-stars-feat-sza\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n [24]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/thebigsmoke.com.au\/2025\/02\/11\/breaking-down-the-beautiful-bold-transgressions-of-kendrick-lamars-super-bowl-halftime-performance\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [25]<\/sup><\/a> Id.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [26]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/02\/09\/entertainment\/kendrick-lamar-halftime-show-super-bowl\/index.html<\/p>\n\n\n\n [27]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.9news.com\/article\/news\/community\/race-and-culture\/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-performance-symbolism\/73-61e6bd70-35ea-4b78-8734-3d7f5d076740.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [28]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/theraidervoice.com\/12897\/arts-entertainment\/the-symbolism-behind-kendrick-lamars-halftime-show-performance\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [29]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.andrews.edu\/life\/student-movement\/issues\/2025-02-14\/ae_kendrick.html.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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