The 2025 half time show was anticipated by millions all over the country who were ready to see the Pulitzer Prize winning rapper Kendrick Lamar play the first ever solo rap performance for one of Americas most televised night. Of course, there was no doubt the artist would be able to put on a show at the New Orleans’ Caesar Superdome.
As the stage lights up and launches into Kendrick Lamar’s performance we are met by nine squares with X’s, and O’s and triangles popping up inside of them. This was inspired by the PlayStation controller which is speculated to be a way to reach young people and a line by actor Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam who introduces Kendrick saying “Salutations!” “This is the great American game!”
“The revolution ‘bout to be televised. You pick the right time but the wrong guy.” Are the first words we hear by Lamar say as all eyes look at his stage. That quote originally came from Gil Scott-Herons 1971 poem that talked about Black liberation by stating “The revolution will not be televised. Confirming the political standing of the Compton born artist.
The solo hip-hop artists began by rapping on a Buick GNX as dozens of dancers emerged from the car in a clown car like manner as he played the audience a snippet from an untitled song he had teased before the release of his most recent album, then moved on to play his song Squabble Up which was also released from his GNX album. Uncle Sam (Samuel L. Jackson) then entered the stage stating:
“No, no, no! Too loud, to reckless, too ghetto. Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!” Many speculate that this line may have more of a political meaning along with the rest of his performance. Kendrick then began to play his songs “Humble”, “DNA”, and “Euphoria” as all of the color-coded background dancers formed an American flag around the hip-hop artist while lights in the audience spelled out “Warning. Wrong Way”. The half-time show then moves to Kendrick on one of the squares and a light post with background dancers to represent him hanging out on the block with his friends when Uncle Sam enters and says “Score keeper. Deduct one life.” to represent Kendrick’s loss of a loved one. We then see in the center of the field with a large X where Lamar then started his song “peekaboo”, “All the Stars” with American singer/ songwriter SZA and teased a performance of his most anticipated song “Not Like Us”
Many fans speculated that Kendrick would tone down his song or not even play it at all when the rapper stated that, “I wanna play their favorite song but you know they love to sue.” Referencing the Canadian rapper Drake that had a very public feud with Kendrick Lamar. Fortunately for Kendrick fans the show went on to play the regional Las Angeles anthem and in the process did not hold back on letting the audience know exactly who that song was written for. The rapper even went as far as to flash a smile while saying “Say Drake” and invited the Serena Williams (Drakes ex girlfriend) to dance on stage, which gave fans closure on who really won the feed between the two especially after winning 5 Grammy awards for “Not Like Us”.
Though Kendrick used his 13 minutes during half time to cleverly add political and social significance while taking shots at Drake, there are still viewers who stated that they were not pleased with the show. Regardless of younger fans overwhelming support especially on social media we also see debates on what songs he should’ve played. Many had hoped for songs such as “B*tch Don’t Kill My Vibe”, “Alright”, or even “Money Trees”. When fans only know the old popular songs from artists it affects their expectations for upcoming performances when artists could use their opportunities to tell a story or to talk about issues they take seriously. Each song that was picked was picked to tell the audience something that’s meaningful to the artists. Kendrick Lamar being the first solo rap performance during the NFL halftime show was bound to have some controversy regardless of personal preference and rap tends to be the least preferred among older generations who have been watching these shows for years. Nonetheless Kendricks half-time show was anticipated to be fun, exciting, and meaningful especially with Lamars prominence when it comes to speaking on political issues and social injustices. One thing we know for sure is that Kendrick gave his audience and Drake a performance to remember.
