Kendrick's Halftime Show: A Review

Photo from Rolling Stone

Since the NFL handed the keys to the Super Bowl’s Halftime show to Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation in 2019, there have been multiple memorable and commercially successful performances from a wide range of artists. Beginning with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, to solo performances by The Weekend and Rihanna, this transfer of power hasn’t cut the star level of the performers in the slightest.

And while Kendrick Lamar isn’t necessarily any larger than the previously mentioned artists, what sets him apart is what will probably go down as one of the most notorious and successful years a musician can have. The main player in that being the well-known beef with Drake this past spring, which garnered multiple hits from a few lethal diss tracks. 

Once the dust had settled, it was fairly obvious to most that Kendrick had soundly won the battle. Aside from this, Kendrick also unexpectedly dropped an album, ‘GNX,’ this past November, which has been extremely successful even by his standards. But even with the announcement that he would be headlining coming out in September, well before GNX released, it was not a shock to many after the year he already had. 

But did he live up to the expectations? That’s a debate to many. In terms of the setlist, it was about what I expected and I was mostly happy with it. All the songs performed were released in 2017 and after, which was somewhat disappointing, with many considering his early work to be his best. My main problem in terms of the music was that his vocals were often drowned out for any number of reasons. Either his mic was too low or the beat was too loud. The musical guest features were expected, with SZA coming in mid show to perform ‘Luther’ and  ‘All The Stars,’ as well as Mustard coming on stage for ‘TV Off’ and the loud “MUSSSTARRRDDD” within the song. 

Aside from musical guests, we also were somewhat surprised with Samuel L. Jackson’s cameo as the narrator of the show, portraying the ‘Uncle Sam,’ a character who has long symbolized the American government in propaganda and political cartoons. While I could go a whole other article into depth on the deeper meaning behind this decision, Jackson's comments and questions towards Kendrick during the show, such as, “Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?” and the elements of protest and revolution following it were a direct criticism of the American system (the ‘game’), especially for the black communities in America who are being systematically discriminated against. 

The show was there for entertainment, but the overarching message was one of revolution, possibly hoping to light a fire in people's minds. And I’d say overall, it succeeded at both tasks, but still could have used some improvements in its core and fine details.