{"id":653212,"date":"2025-02-12T11:10:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T08:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/review-kendrick-lamar-summarized-himself-at-the-super-bowl\/"},"modified":"2025-02-12T11:10:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T08:10:18","slug":"review-kendrick-lamar-summarized-himself-at-the-super-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/review-kendrick-lamar-summarized-himself-at-the-super-bowl\/","title":{"rendered":"#Review: Kendrick Lamar summarized himself at the Super Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a374ccf9e548\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg 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class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/review-kendrick-lamar-summarized-himself-at-the-super-bowl\/#The_rappers_halftime_show_was_neither_a_neutered_compromise_nor_a_stadium-shaking_provocation\" >The rapper\u2019s halftime show was neither a neutered compromise nor a stadium-shaking provocation.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_rappers_halftime_show_was_neither_a_neutered_compromise_nor_a_stadium-shaking_provocation\"><\/span>The rapper\u2019s halftime show was neither a neutered compromise nor a stadium-shaking provocation.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267876\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-2198616648_v95yh4\/kendrick-lamar-at-the-super-bowl-photo-by-jamie-squire-getty-images.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"Review: Kendrick Lamar summarized himself at the Super Bowl\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>    <span class=\"caption\"><br \/>\n      Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl. Photo by Jamie Squire\/Getty Images<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><br \/>\n      \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267869\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Just before Kendrick Lamar played his halftime show at the Super Bowl, I saw <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/iOXWmZbA2Io\">a commercial for a weight loss program soundtracked by Childish Gambino\u2019s \u201cThis Is America.\u201d <\/a>Its tone is one of tempered anti-establishment and hope for a better path amid corruption and a literally sick country. Such an ad airing in the United States would have been unimaginable a decade-and-a-half ago when Kendrick Lamar first emerged, but then again, so would have a halftime show led by one of the founding members of an L.A rap collective called Black Hippy. In that 15 years, the world has grown more receptive to (and sought to capitalize on) the righteous fury and hopeful conviction Lamar channeled in becoming one of the most important artists of his generation; with his 14-minute Super Bowl performance, Lamar neatly packaged himself as rap\u2019s thoughtful conqueror, with no more or less provocation than necessary.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267896\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267898\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kendrick Lamar\u2019s full Super Bowl halftime show performance. \ud83c\udfc6<\/p>\n<p> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WU2BTLe5ZE\">pic.twitter.com\/WU2BTLe5ZE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Justin L. Hunte \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@TheCompanyMan) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheCompanyMan\/status\/1888784299257745861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267870\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            If anything, \u201cconqueror\u201d is too light a word. Lamar\u2019s victory over Drake was sealed even before \u201cNot Like Us\u201d won five Grammys, including Song and Record of the Year. The song\u2019s worldwide success gave the art of the diss track unprecedented new cultural presence, and hooked Lamar to the side of a rocket ship. Gone was the ambivalent savior era of <i>Mr. Morale &amp; the Big Steppers<\/i> in favor of Proud Defender of the West Coast from the Canadian Menace. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=osrHcCAIUpk\">In Lamar\u2019s telling<\/a>, it was an opportunity to make hip-hop a sport again and flex his \u201cthe core definition\u201d as an artist. The heat of his hatred was a warm fire and the world scurried shoulder-to-shoulder to bask in its glow.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267897\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267871\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            As soon as the show started, it seemed familiar, a rare feeling when faced with something new from Kendrick Lamar. Our host for the show was Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as the Uncle Sam character. An embodiment of conservative Black respectability politics, Uncle Sam would criticize Lamar for being \u201ctoo ghetto\u201d (following the woefully censored \u201csquabble up\u201d) and praise him at moments like the \u201ccalm\u201d duet with SZA. \u201cWelcome to the American <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a>,\u201d he bellowed at the show\u2019s beginning, a reference to the balancing act Lamar is forced to endure as a Black entertainer.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            Jackson\u2019s role recalls Dave Chappelle\u2019s in Lamar\u2019s revelatory 2018 Grammy performance. Both men are oracles, providing ironic commentary on Lamar\u2019s performance, but Jackson is cynical instead of encouraging. It\u2019s one of the show\u2019s several remixed elements, like the dancers draped red and the conspicuous presence of an American flag, that give the feeling of a big budget reboot rather than an entirely new production or even just an artist returning to familiar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">theme<\/a>s. \n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267872\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left video\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\" style=\"padding-top: 56.25%;\">\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kendrick Lamar, U2 &amp; Dave Chappelle - XXX, DNA, New Freezer &amp; King&#039;s Dead (2018 Grammy Performance)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Es92WGgSxes?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n \/\/trackYouTubeVideo('267872');\n<\/script><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267873\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            From his first moments on stage, Lamar let the world know he wasn\u2019t quite ready to move on from the beef. His first bars were rapped as he perched on top of a GNX, the titular car from his most recent album: \u201cIt\u2019s a cultural divide, Imma get it on the floor\/ 40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music \/ They tried to rig the game, but you can\u2019t fake influence.\u201d Drake\u2019s federal defamation lawsuits against UMG, label home to both himself and Lamar, led many to speculate whether or not the NFL would let him play the song. Here was the first indication of where he\u2019d take things.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            Lamar\u2019s entire performance could be summarized by one lyric from the <i>GNX<\/i> track \u201cman at the garden\u201d: \u201cFlip a coin, want the shameless me or the famous me?\u201d Lamar\u2019s set danced across his catalog like the coin sailing through the air, revealing both sides. At one moment, he was rapping \u201cman at the garden\u201d lyrics underneath a street light backed by a group of Black men with the white tees, baggy blue jeans, and gold teeth; the Fox <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> viewers at home probably started drafting their \u201cworst halftime show ever!!!\u201d tweets at that moment. Not long after, he was introducing \u201cNot Like Us,\u201d a song he had teased just minutes earlier, repeating in the introduction that performing the hit was \u201cbigger than the music\u201d \u2013 those same conservative dads were probably nodding their heads as they posted.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-267874\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            There was Lamar, skipping down the field, the star who bent pop to his commitment to competitive rapping. It was one of the show&#8217;s handful of powerful moments \u2014 the silent dignity of the \u201cman at the garden\u201d goons got me choked up, and the cameo from a crip-walking Serena Williams, herself the focus of respectability controversies, was perhaps the most iconic moment of the show.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            The most epic, however, was the appearance of \u201cNot Like Us.\u201d After the sound of an entire stadium singing <i>&#8220;A minorrrrr&#8221;<\/i> was transmitted around the world, Drake\u2019s lawyers may very well be drawing up <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/joecoscarelli\/status\/1888726114459103481\">new briefs<\/a>. This was the coin landing perfectly on its side, a mixture of the \u201cshameless\u201d rapper raised in the ruthless streets of Compton and the fame he has cultivated. It\u2019s one of the biggest music stories in years, and Lamar just added another wrinkle to it, with a Cheshire Cat grin plastered on his face.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            I was more enthusiastic about the performance on repeat viewings. What at first seemed like rote checking of boxes and flashy gestures was revealed as a diligently crafted encapsulation of an artist that playfully challenged the audience\u2019s expectations. Some of us may have hoped for a statement that shook the walls of the stadium, but what Kendrick Lamar delivered couldn\u2019t be captured in a weight loss commercial. For a Super Bowl performance, that\u2019s enough to make it a standout.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">Jordan Darville<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2025\/02\/11\/kendrick-lamar-super-bowl-halftime-show-review\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rapper\u2019s halftime show was neither a neutered compromise nor a stadium-shaking provocation. Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl. Photo by Jamie Squire\/Getty Images \u00a0 Just before Kendrick Lamar played his halftime show at the Super Bowl, I saw a commercial for a weight loss program soundtracked by Childish Gambino\u2019s \u201cThis Is America.\u201d Its tone&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":653213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/c_limit,w_1024\/c_crop,h_532,w_1022,x_0,y_38,f_auto,q_auto:eco\/GettyImages-2198616648_bc5lkr\/GettyImages-2198616648_bc5lkr.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[70532,77576],"class_list":["post-653212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-hip-hop","tag-kendrick-lamar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}