“Welcome to the Great American Game”
One of the biggest nights in America has always been the Super Bowl. For 59 years, after each NFL season, two of the year’s biggest football teams go head on to fight for the biggest title in football: Super Bowl Champions.
Many aspects of the Super Bowl that draw people in. Of course, there’s football, but the celebrity shots and crazy commercials are some examples of what catches everyone’s attention. For me, my favorite part of the night is the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Each Super Bowl Halftime show gets more ornate each year. What originated as a marching show, like typical football halftime shows, has now shifted into one of the biggest performances of the year.
I’m not an expert, but it only makes sense for the last artist to be topped by the one selected for the current year. Last year was Usher, who featured special guests such as Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., will.i.am, Lil Jon, and Ludacris. This year was no disappointment with a fantastic, jaw-dropping performance by Kendrick Lamar.
Kendrick, in my opinion, has always produced amazing music with messages sewn in each of his lyrics. Last year, in 2024, Kendrick Lamar entered a feud with Drake, where the two of them released diss tracks for each other back to back. From all of that drama, the one that stands out the most is Not Like Us, which won five Grammys. This was one of the most anticipated songs to be heard live from the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and Kendrick delivered.
Kendrick Lamar has always been political and symbolic in all of his music, which is why I wanted to point out some important things I noticed in his halftime show. The Super Bowl Halftime show is an important platform for artists to say what they want to say because it is guaranteed that a lot of people are going to be watching. To cover this performance, I decided to break it into categories of special guests, appearances, and performances.
Kendrick Lamar’s Revolution will be Televised: What the Super Bowl Halftime Show Says About America
Special Guests
It was already known to the public that Kendrick would be performing a couple of songs with SZA, so it was no shock to see her. She performed amazingly and did a beautiful job. I think one of the most anticipated songs was “All the Stars” and they delivered, using two of the four corner stages.
Other than SZA, three more guests would make their appearance throughout the halftime show, and each one was a surprise to the audience. First, the show opens with Samuel L. Jackson, who was dressed as Uncle Sam. He acts almost as a narrator, and welcomes us, the audience, to the “great American game.” Throughout the show, he represents certain Americans, criticizing Kendrick Lamar and his music, calling it “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto.”
After SZA’s appearance, while Kendrick performed “Not Like Us”, the camera panned to a crip-walking Serena Williams, who was making direct eye contact with the camera. For those who know all of the Drake drama (which I had to dive into), Serena and Drake used to date, but when Serena got married in 2022, Drake released a song in which he made a jabbing comment about Serena and her husband. That is why her presence was so significant.
The last guest featured on the Super Bowl Halftime stage was producer Mustard, who helped Kendrick Lamar with his hit song “Not Like Us.” Mustard had been wanting to work with Kendrick for years and “Not Like Us” gave him his first hit on the Billboard 100. This was a nice tribute to the man who helped the Drake diss come to life.
Appearances
One of the first things I noticed when watching the Super Bowl Halftime show was the color scheme: red, white, and blue. Sounds familiar, right? Each dancer wore a monochrome outfit that complemented the get-up Samuel L. Jackson, or Uncle Sam wore. The American theme was very political and important for the messages Kendrick was trying to convey to get across to the audience.
Even SZA and Serena were all monochrome, for the most part, not straying from the three colors. The only exception to this was producer Mustard, who wore a signature yellow. I assume this was meant to allow him a chance to stand out because there’s hardly a person in America who doesn’t know “Not Like Us.”
Kendrick Lamar’s outfit made as much of a statement as the rest. Kendrick wore an iconic necklace with a lowercase letter “a” on it, which has been speculated to represent his line in “Not Like Us” saying “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.” Though it’s not confirmed, it is still a statement piece. In addition to that, this particular piece of clothing does not symbolize anything, but the internet has been obsessed with the pair of bootcut jeans that Kendrick wore on stage.
Kendrick Lamar Takes the Stage: The Politics of His Super Bowl Halftime Show
Performance
There is so much to unpack from the performance, so I’m not going to mention everything, but here are a few of my favorite moments. The first thing that stood out to me was the stage on which he was performing. In each corner there was a different shape, either a square, circle, triangle, or an X. This, to me, immediately made me think of a game controller. This shot was immediately followed by Samuel L. Jackson, a.k.a. Uncle Sam, saying “Welcome to the Great American Game.”
Another thing I noticed, and what was powerful to me, was when the dancers made up the American flag. As mentioned before, the colors already made me think of America and the current political climate. However, in the midst of this American flag visual, Kenrick Lamar stood in the center, separating the two sides. This, to me, represented a nation divided.
The last part of the performance that I enjoyed was when Kendrick Lamar kept teasing “Not Like Us.” In particular, I loved when he made eye contact and said “I want to perform their favorite song but you know they love to sue,” which was a stab at Drake and his legal team. Additionally, he continued to tease “Not Like Us” the entire time and made direct eye contact with the camera when saying Drake’s name.
There’s so much more to talk about with this performance because Kendrick truly did an amazing job. His performance was entertaining, informative, and political, which is what people want and quite frankly need to see. If you have not already watched the 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show, I highly recommend that you do, because this performance has a message that everyone needs to hear.