Kendrick Lamar – Superbowl LIX Halftime Show | Reviews | Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews
For its duration, the Superbowl is essentially the only show on Earth. The sporting extravaganza has grown in scope during the 21st century, becoming a
For its duration, the Superbowl is essentially the only show on Earth. The sporting extravaganza has grown in scope during the 21st century, becoming a truly global flex of American culture. The coveted halftime show is peak prime time viewing – an advertising Everest, it’s also the most potent window into culture that television can provide.
News that Kendrick Lamar was claiming the Apple Music Superbowl LIX Halftime show (to give the event its government name) sparked furious speculation. A year of controversial highs from the Compton rapper, his evisceration of Drake with ‘Not Like Us’ supplied 2024 with its most petulant rap hymn.
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In the end, the results were mixed, but not without some undoubted iconic moments. Opening with an unreleased track – Reddit users claim it’s called ‘bodies’ – was a left-of-centre move, and a Copyright Kendrick moment, a means of claiming the limelight while shunning it. Some of his greatest tracks feature – ‘Squabble Up’, ‘HUMBLE’, an epic ‘DNA’ – while others are excised. With Trump becoming the first President to watch a Superbowl game live in the stadium, the temptation to perform BLM anthem ‘Alright’ must have been overwhelming – curiously, it didn’t feature.
‘Not Like Us’ was teased, and then cut; a run that moves with ‘Euphoria’ and ‘Man At The Garden’ proved to be for fans only, the stadium curiously quiet.
But then came the golden run. ‘Luther’ and ‘All The Stars’ featured a resplendent SZA, a bravura back-to-back that illuminated Kendrick’s nimble artistry – bootcut jeans, and all. Samuel T. Jackson appeared as Uncle Sam, one of the few potentially provocative statements in the set – in the end, he served more as a comic foil.
After the clouds, the storm: the entrance of ‘Not Like Us’ rocked the New Orleans stadium to its foundations, threatening to collapse the bleachers under the way of the fracas. Shouting “hey, Drake!” into the camera, Kendrick then self-censored – there’s no need to utter the p-word when the watching millions are screaming it for you.
Closing with ‘TV Off’ this felt like an effective Superbowl Halftime show, rather than a classic. The Compton street scenes resembled the work Kendrick assembled for guest role at the 2022 ceremony, while the much-vaunted guest star wasn’t even a musician – it was Drake’s rumoured ex, Serena Williams (albeit performing an immaculate Crip Walk).
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There was a curious shift at this year’s Superbowl, with the previous anti-racism messages swapped for CHOOSE LOVE at pitch-side. Kendrick Lamar chose hate – this era might not have the profound longevity of ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’, but it’s just as impactful.
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