Katelyn Benschoter-

Once a year, the nation gathers to watch two of the best football teams face off in the Super Bowl and once a year, I gather to watch one of the most anticipated performances: the halftime show. The halftime show is a coveted performance reserved for artists who have reached an ultimate level of stardom. There have been several iconic pop culture moments born out of the halftime show whether it was the selfie kid from Justin Timberlake’s, Rihanna announcing her pregnancy, or Left Shark from Katy Perry’s. This year, rapper Kendrick Lamar took the stage. He has had a massive year of fame and is just coming off 5 Grammy wins. I confess that I don’t listen to rap and do not know much of Lamar’s music. I was highly intrigued to see what his performance plans were. Watching it, I was blown away. My eyes were glued to the TV from start to finish, and I am still thinking about his performance. 

So, let’s dive into the performance. The show opened with Samuel L. Jackson dressed as none other than Uncle Sam. It was clear from the first few minutes of the show that Lamar was here to make a statement about the current state of America. Lamar is known for using his music as activism, so this wasn’t out of character for him. As Lamar began the first song, he changed a lyric to “The revolution will be televised. You picked the right time, but the wrong guy,” an immensely powerful statement. In our day and age of media training and culture, making an impressionable statement can be a tricky thing to do. Lamar left a mark, and he didn’t shy away from heavy ideas. This strong start only made me more excited for the rest of the performance. To make his performance even more powerful, our current U.S. president, Donald Trump was in the audience for this performance; meaning everything Lamar did was that much more impactful. 

Sticking to the theme of America, there was a very intentional color scheme of red, white, and blue throughout the show. Particularly during the song “DNA”; Lamar’s dancers surrounded him in the shape of the American flag. The theming of America is incredibly interesting, as the Super Bowl is a deeply American event. Football is in many ways a fundamental part of American culture. Therefore, by having the stage to perform at one of the biggest events in American culture and using that stage to critique America, Lamar left his mark. His performance highlighted racial inequality, shootings, and political division. 

Another key aspect of this year’s halftime show was the guest stars. R&B singer SZA joined him on stage and sounded amazing. Her sound is effortless and beautiful. They sang “All the Stars” from the Black Panther soundtrack. It was a definite high point of the night. There was also a short cameo made by tennis star Serena Williams. This guest appearance was surprising and has many layers to it. To begin, Williams is a very strong black female figure in America. She is one of the best tennis players in recent history. She broke through as a black woman in a predominately white sport. She also is an ex-girlfriend of Drake, who Lamar has been in a public feud with. Lamar even mentions her in “Not Like Us,” singing “Better not speak on Serena.” Her cameo involved her crip walking, which is deeply associated with hip-hop culture. Williams had crip walked after securing the gold medal in 2012 and got an immense amount of hate and was highly criticized for it. People came after her accusing her of glamorizing gang culture. She even posted a video after the show saying “If I would’ve crip walked like that at Wimbledon I would’ve been fineddd.” This was clearly a very purposeful guest star to include and it was also a very powerful moment for Williams. The guest stars on top of everything else during this show hit the spot. 

One of the most anticipated aspects of this year’s time show was Lamar’s Grammy award-winning diss track “Not Like Us.” This song started as a diss track directed at fellow rapper Drake but has blown up immensely. Lamar knew his fans would be waiting for him to play this song, so he was clever. He kept teasing it throughout the show and made viewers wait. But the wait was well worth it. It was clear this was very exciting for Lamar as he was grinning ear to ear as he performed it. Particularly during the line, “Hey Drake, I hear you like ‘em young” the photo of Lamar smiling has gone absolutely viral. The crowd adored it; during the infamous “probably A minor” line the crowd roared. This halftime show demonstrated Lamar’s genius songwriting skills. Throughout the show, he tells the story of black culture in America, and the A minor chord uses no black keys on the piano. Pure genius. Not to mention his outfit referenced this lyric as he wore a lowercase letter A chain.  

To end the show, Lamar sang “tv off” which, like the rest of his set, was extremely purposeful. In this song, Lamar calls for action – once again using his platform for good. He sings “It’s not enough,” and “Turn this TV off,” repeatedly. He is calling for social justice, and in particular to get off your couch and go do something meaningful in the world. This is an especially interesting way to end one of the most watched televised events, calling for people to “turn the TV off.” Performers of the halftime show usually agree to do the show in order to better their careers. It is the ultimate sign of stardom and that you have made it. Yet, during one of his biggest moments, he is calling for people to stop watching. Lamar is critiquing those who claim to be helping make progress but simply sit at home posting on social media and watching TV. The real work starts in the world by talking to people and consciously making changes. I love that he ended with “tv off” and left his audience thinking. 

I believe this to be one of the best halftime shows we have seen in quite some time, and I say this because Lamar did not simply sing his hit songs. He did much more than that – he told a story. From start to finish, every outfit, camera angle, set design was all intentional. Some of the more recent halftime shows have lacked a clear story and message. Past shows have just shown a collection of their songs with a cool set. The amount of hard work and planning that this show must have taken demands respect. He came to make a statement and deliver an incredible show, which he did. And if I am being fully transparent, the halftime show may have converted me to a Kendrick Lamar fan. I love smart songwriting, and songwriting is absolutely where his strengths lie.