(Photo courtesy of The Rolling Stone) “Kendrick Lamar Brings ‘Not Like Us’ To the Superbowl Halftime Show”
Abigayle Rettman
Connector Contributor
Superbowl LIX occurred last Sunday Feb. 9 in New Orleans, and fans across the country went insane. When halftime came around, fans were on the edge of their seats from the Eagles 24-0 lead. The recent Grammy winner –– Kendrick Lamar –– took the stage and absolutely stole the attention of all Americans in the stadium, making his performance the most viewed halftime show ever. From Lamar’s mom jeans to the Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” this performance has become a hot topic.
One of the biggest scandals that had spread like wildfire is the beef between Lamar and Drake. In
2013, Lamar was featured on Big Sean’s song “Control” where the beef between him and Drake began. Making a name for himself, Lamar called out some of the biggest rappers in the industry, including Drake. The two of them have been feuding ever since. Over a decade later, the battle seemingly ended on Sunday night as the entire stadium sang in unison, “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor,” lyrics from one of Lamar’s newer songs “Not Like Us. ”America can agree on one thing: Lamar certainly won the war against Drake.
Another trending topic is the appearance Serena Williams made on the stage. Williams was doing the Crip Walk, a dance originally done by the “Crips” gang in the 70s but has been integrated into Black pop culture. She did this back in 2012 at Wimbledon after winning gold during the Olympics. Williams was harshly criticized by people saying it was “unprofessional,” “crass,” and that it “supported gang violence.” During the Superbowl this past week, she showed America that their hate only made her more successful. This doesn’t even mention Williams having a past fling with Drake in 2015. This ended with him swooning over her even up until
2022, name dropping her in his song “Middle of the Ocean” where he insults her husband. Williams’ perfect revenge was walking out on the Superbowl stage to Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track against Drake.
The political side of this halftime show has sparked major controversy especially under the eyes of the president. One of the most talked about subjects from the game has been the presence of President Donald Trump –– the first sitting president to ever attend the Superbowl. It is known that Lamar is a big Trump hater and, in the past, has called him a “chump.” People speculate that parts of the show were aimed towards President Trump and his MAGA supporters. Lamar portrayed a divided American flag with his red, white, and blue dancers –– illustrating the division between Americans. There was also Samuel L. Jackson’s portrayal of Uncle Sam who represented the racism and injustices faced against Black Americans. Many instances of Lamar’s symbolism during his performance have faced backlash against the Republican community.
It has been reported that President Trump left shortly after the Halftime performance.
Apparently, he didn’t appreciate the show, but many others have praised it. It is obvious that the show caused a lot of commotion, but did Lamar go a step too far or did he take a brave stance for what is right?
