At the 59th annual Super Bowl, award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar took the stage to perform at the halftime show. The event featured singer SZA, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and tennis player Serena Williams. Lamar’s performance which reflected themes of race and power as well as his recent feud with Canadian rapper, Drake, garnered significant attention on the internet.
Lamar is a known activist for racial equality. His lyrics have social and political undertones, as he uses his platform to spread his opinions and beliefs. Lamar’s halftime performance did not fall short of this. The backup dancers wore red, white, and blue and arranged themselves as the American flag. He stood in the middle of the flag, breaking it up, nodding to the political and racial divide in our country right now. Samuel L. Jackson portrays American icon Uncle Sam throughout the show. He declares the music “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto.” Lamar silences these critiques to his music, standing up for the rap genre and every artist whose music is insulted this way.
Drake and Lamar have been in an online feud, both releasing diss tracks about the other. Throughout the halftime show, Kendrick wore a necklace with the letter A. Many fans speculate that this alludes to his song “Not Like Us,” in which he raps about Drake, saying, “Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A Minor.” He also brings out SZA and Serena Williams, both of whom have dated Drake in the past. This is another direct blow to his competitor. Lamar ended his performance with the lights spelling out ‘GAME OVER,’ symbolizing his stance in the battle. Lamar publicly humiliated Drake in front of the entire country and there is nothing that Drake can do to come out on top.