By Emmanuel Rodriguez
Kendrick Lamar performing during the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show on Feb. 9. Photo by Bob Kupbens, Icon Sportswire, Getty Images
All eyes were on Kendrick Lamar on Sunday night with viewers tuning in to watch his much anticipated 2025 Superbowl LIX Halftime Show. Lamar, a Pulitzer Prize-winning artist, showed up and showed out with his prevalent symbolism, song choices and allusion to the daily experience of being Black in America throughout his performance. The Compton-born artist performed a variety of hits from his repertoire including “luther” featuring SZA, “Humble” from his album DAMN and his Billboard record-breaking hit “Not Like Us”.
The performance served as a love letter to Black America and a critique of the divided America we live in. Fans and spectators watching might have noticed a variety of symbolism and references during the rapper’s performance.
One element, in particular, was the dancers dressed in red, white and blue. This was a notable moment that utilized the colors when they formed the shape of the American flag. Still, more importantly, there was the symbolism of a divided America split down the middle with Lamar in the center. Lamar has been vocal about the relationship between the Black population and the American system in the past. His song “Alright” even became an anthem during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
The utilization of American themes did not stop with the colors. Academy Award-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson made an appearance as Uncle Sam, the U.S. propaganda icon used to garner enlistments for the military. After Lamar opened with an unreleased song and followed up with “squabble up”, a track from his album “GNX’, Jackson appeared in frame with a scolding, “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!” The actor served as a commentator on Lamar’s performance often making degrading remarks, a sign of American disdain towards Black artists and performers. It is speculated that this could have been in response to Republican lawmakers demanding a more “family-friendly” halftime show, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam. Photo by FOX Network
Early in the performance, Lamar speaks to the audience saying, “The revolution is about to be televised, you picked the right time, but you picked the wrong guy.” This line references Gil Scott-Heron’s poem from 1971, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. According to Scott-Heron’s intentions with this poem, lyric-analysis website Genius suggests that “In a series of bold statements, Scott-Heron is essentially saying that freedom is not a spectator sport: you will not be able to sit at home and expect progress to come knocking, you will not see progress in the mainstream media, and you will not be able to rely on social or political leaders to give you your freedom.”
Kendrick Lamar arguing that the revolution is in fact about to be televised suggests that the revolution started on the very stage he was on, on national television which has now been seen by 133.5 million people. Now, he also says we “picked the wrong guy”. Some viewers speculate that this could have been about President Donald Trump, who was in attendance. This would come as no surprise as Lamar has criticized Trump in the past. In 2017, in an interview with fuse, Lamar explained, “The key differences [between Obama and Trump] are morals, dignity, principles, common sense.”
Using the majesty that is the Superbowl Halftime Show, Lamar chose to do it his way, which opted for a message instead of pageantry. His performance served as a reminder that despite efforts to stop it, Black culture is here and thriving. He chose to shine a light on how hip-hop is centric to the people who love it. If this was about music, he would have opted to play more of his hits.
Moreover—and contrary to recent criticisms—if this show was Drake-centric he would’ve played more of his diss tracks. However, the beauty of his performance was how Lamar put it: “This is bigger than the music.” Highlighting the struggles of Black America while also being on one of the biggest stages on Earth truly shows that the culture is here and it isn’t going anywhere.