Kendrick Lamar is an artist with strong political views, which is illustrated through his multiple songs that bring awareness to the racial injustice in America as well as to many other aspects of inequality. When he landed the gig of headlining the Super Bowl Halftime show, we knew that he’d make a statement about the political state of the world at the moment. Kendrick Lamar used his performance to make a statement about revolution and standing up for what is right, especially since America is in a state of disarray as Donald Trump is back in office, making the lives of many individuals even more difficult through his controversial and inhumane decisions.
Of course, this performance had a focus on being a messy, petty, hater (which we love) and we saw this through Kendrick wearing an A minor necklace in reference to his diss track about Drake; Serena Williams dancing during said diss track; and, notoriously, his sweet, innocent, yet diabolical smile to the camera whilst he said ‘say Drake’. Having said this, Kendrick’s political statements were just too hard to avoid, so here, I will be discussing the messages and symbolism noticed during his powerful performance.
the performance and staging being a video game
The staging of the performance was a PlayStation controller, with the four corners of the space being the four buttons: the square, X, triangle, and circle. There’s also a street running down the middle of the space. On this street, the performance opens with Samuel L Jackson playing Uncle Sam telling everyone that this is the ‘great American game’. This is not talking about American football. Uncle Sam is a symbol of the American power structure and government and alludes to the notion that America is like a game. Some are winners, some are losers, some rig the systems, and some cheat, but at the end of the day we are all in this ‘American game’. The game where the government wants Americans to behave in silence and complicity with what they are doing and their plans for the future of the country. Kendrick Lamar is trying to beat the game by fighting the system.
THE Square
The performance then begins with Kendrick in the square button of the controller, where he starts singing on top of a GNX car. In the 1980s, the GNX represented power, rebellion, and authenticity, which relates to Kendrick’s need to push the limits of hip-hop as well as his want to provide a political message through his music and performance. Coming out of the car are dancers dressed in red, white, and blue who, not only represent the American people but could also represent the different aspects of society. Red could be the conservative, blue are liberals, and white are the elite as white clothing is historically associated with the wealthy due to it costing more to maintain. There’s only one time in the whole performance where Kendrick mentions the government by name which is in the first song, where we see a red person and white person shake hands when he says ‘government’, perhaps alluding to the elite making deals with the conservative power structure as well as corruption.
Here, Kendrick says something extremely important: “The revolution is about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” This illustrates how the US is long overdue for a revolution and the people deserve positive and equal change. However, the wrong guy has been selected to lead this change: Donald Trump (with influence from Elon Musk). America desperately needs change and revolution but not the kind that Trump wants, which will drastically set the country back decades. As well as this, the revolution will be televised because of the technology that currently exists.
After this, he starts singing ‘Squabble Up’ which is about standing up for yourself and fighting back. This suggests that Kendrick is not going to conform to what the government wants, he will go against it in order to do what is right.
Uncle Sam returns, saying that Kendrick’s playing the game “too loud, too reckless” followed by the question “Mr Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!”. He’s basically telling him to calm down and that you can only play the game if you’re quiet or subtle with what you’re saying. This could suggest how power structures have historically used this technique to control marginalised voices and make a society where these people shouldn’t be heard because they’re too reckless and disruptive. The government want its people to be subservient, silent, and below them and that’s just how the game is played.
After Uncle Sam tells Kendrick to calm down, he stands in an American flag, illustrating his following of what power structures say to do in order to be the perfect American citizen. However, the flag splits in half with Kendrick in the middle, suggesting the notion that this rhetoric Uncle Sam is expressing is divisive to the country. This split occurs during the song ‘Humble’, which could be a message to the people from the government to sit down and be humble, which is precisely what the government wants its citizens to do whilst they grasp for more power through the exploitation of the people they have sworn to protect. Not very humble in my opinion. This could also have another meaning, being that Kendrick is saying to the government to sit down and reflect on the division they’re causing and to be humbler.
THE STREETLIGHT
After leaving the square, the next segment shows Kendrick moving down the street in between the controllers’ buttons to a streetlight, where he’s surrounded by dancers behind him. Here, he speaks out against the system with no shame through the symbolism of Americans taking to the streets and voicing their concerns and opinions.
Uncle Sam reappears saying “Scorekeeper, deduct one life” after Kendrick has said his piece. This speaks for itself. Uncle Sam represents the government’s use of instilling fear into people as a weapon to keep silent by threatening acts of violence against marginalised groups that are voicing their concerns and speaking out against a system that disregards them. It’s as if the consequences of their actions are violence against them, although their actions have pure intentions of striving for equality, freedom, and the right to live. It’s ironic, to say the least, that these pure intentions are met with violence when the American government’s impure and disgusting intentions are met with nothing.
the x
Kendrick has now left the square, gone down the street, and is now inside the X button of the controller, where he starts singing ‘Peekaboo’. On the PlayStation controller, the X symbol means to confirm something. By singing ‘Peekaboo’, Kendrick is choosing and confirming to reveal the unhidden truths about people, society, and the political structure. He uses this moment to tease ‘Not Like Us’ by saying “I want to perform their favourite song but you know they love to sue”. ‘Not Like Us’ is about uncovering truths, as it’s a diss track against Drake and the disgusting things he’s done. But this goes far beyond dissing Drake, it refers to a larger message of uncovering deeper truths. As he’s on the X button, he is confirming that the truth must be revealed. He then says that he’ll slow things down when the performance moves to the triangle button.
THE TRIANGLE
In a video game, the triangle represents the direction you want to go. The direction of the performance leads to a much softer and quieter part where Kendrick brings out SZA. She’s singing ”Luther’ inside the triangle, which is about moving towards the direction of love and social change, a message we should follow. Doing this within the triangle makes sense. Whilst this is occurring, we see people marching down the street and in between the controller buttons. This could represent peaceful protests and people taking to the streets. The focus then goes to the marching around the circle button.
The circle
Within a video game, the circle represents rejection or cancellation. Kendrick and SZA start singing ‘All The Stars’, where he discusses how confrontation isn’t new to him and how he’ll always fight back even though people have tried to attack him for his openness. This is done within the circle which is about rejection. He’s rejecting the people trying to diminish him and the people trying to shut him up; this is him fighting back. This could also be about the government’s silencing practices against marginalised groups.
Additionally, the song is soft with no yelling or aggressiveness, which can be regarded as a peaceful protest. Due to the softness, Uncle Sam is pleased. He’s glad that Kendrick is calm as this is what ‘America wants’, quietness and silence. He says that Kendrick is almost there if he keeps up this softness and to not mess things up. But he soon gets mad as Kendrick’s tone changes as ‘Not Like Us’ begins.
important notes before ‘not like us’
Before ‘Not Like Us’ begins, Kendrick mentions that there’s a cultural divide. This is followed by him powerfully saying “40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music”. 40 acres and mule was a promise made to Black people after the end of the American Civil War where they were promised land and resources to help them build economically. This promise made by the government was broken, which is why Kendrick says “This is bigger than the music”. So, this points to the fact that the American government will lie to you, which is why you shouldn’t trust it and why you shouldn’t be complicit or silent.
Following this, Kendrick says “They try to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence”, referring back to the game he’s playing in the performance, but ultimately referring to the ‘American game’ mentioned earlier. This quote means that no matter how many times wealthy people have tried to rig the system in their favour, they can never truly win real loyalty and support.
Kendrick finally performs ‘Not Like Us’
Of course, the crowd goes crazy, which could suggest that people were waiting for this moment and missed the political messages Kendrick was trying to get across prior to this song. But I digress. Whilst singing, there’s a moment where everyone falls down but an inner circle of dancers dressed in white, potentially alluding to the elite ‘inner circle’ surviving and thriving whilst those below will suffer.
However, this performance of the song very much illustrates the messy, hater side of Kendrick we all love, especially with the iconic ‘Say Drake’ smile to the camera. Having Serena Williams crip walk in the performance was another iconic detail, seeing Drake and her’ previous history. And, of course, you can hear the entire audience sing “A Minor” which is just funny and must be super embarrassing for Drake (lol).
This performance emphasises the notion to always speak out against what is wrong, no matter what the government, big corporations, or influential power structures say to do, we must always stay true to ourselves and the goals which we NEED and MUST accomplish. As this song is about exposing the truth, this idea is illustrated perfectly whilst simultaneously airing out a gross person’s dirty laundry.
Moreover, at this point in the performance, people are occupying every button on the controller, meaning that in order to beat the game, we need to occupy all these spaces. We must make the choice to speak up and reveal the truth about society, we must lead ourselves in the direction of love and social change, and we must reject people who diminish marginalised individuals and groups.
the greater message and my final thoughts
Kendrick ends the performance with a call to action. This being to turn off the TV and disconnect from the propaganda and the brainwashing that occurs through the mainstream media as they influence you through the power structure that influences the media. The final feat that we see is ‘game over’. This is left to the audience’s imaginations and what they understand ‘game over’ to mean. It could be that we successfully revolted against the discriminatory government to achieve peace and equity for all. It could be that we failed and these powerful structures and elites completely destroyed society. Who knows? It’s up to you to decide.
Overall, Kendrick Lamar’s performance illustrates how we have got to stand up and fight against these power-hungry elites in order to achieve what is best for society. America is a game and we can’t play it in the way that Uncle Sam (the government) wants us to.