The Super Bowl LIX Halftime Analysis You Never Knew You Needed
MUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!
If you were part of the 37.1 million US households that watched the Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, then this newsletter is for you. And if you did miss the game, but still want to be in the know about the halftime show by Kendrick Lamar, you can watch it here.
Fresh off the Grammys, this performance could not be more timely. Lamar bagged five Grammys at the 2025 award show including Best Song for the famous diss track Not Like Us. I was secretly hoping that he would include Taylor Swift for a Bad Blood performance as a surprise, but seeing All the Stars performed with SZA from the Black Panther soundtrack was perfect.
We’ve seen some questionable (I love me some Black Eyed Peas, but this one was rough) and controversial (looking at you, JT) halftime performances for the Super Bowl before so with the current rivalry between Lamar and Drake, I was so curious to see how this one would pan out. Ultimately, I think it was extremely effective, entertaining, and successful. There were a few things that really popped out to me that I want to zoom in on.
Colors and Clothes
The red, white, and blue colors on the backup dancers and Lamar’s jacket could allude to the patriotism of America because football is every American’s favorite past-time (or so they say, I still don’t know how football works), but I think as the show progresses it seems to symbolize the broader theme of America itself.
I love the lowercase “a” chain that I believe is a nod to “A-minorrrrrr”, and his custom-made jacket with the words “Gloria” spread across the chest to throw it back to his song Gloria from his GNX album.
Samuel L. Jackson
Seeing Samuel L. Jackson play the role of Uncle Sam was so pivotal to the message of this performance. His interludes provided the context of the overall themes of Lamar’s play and are a nod to his song For Free? from his 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly.
I’ll get into some of Jackon’s lines throughout the performance later, but having his voice be a symbol of the controlling forces of America gave me goosebumps.
The Stage
At first glance, I thought the stage was imitating the symbols of Squid Game, and thought the whole performance was trying to show the death match and capitalism of current America. But upon further reflection, I see all four symbols on a PlayStation controller, and the full production was divided into each symbol to give emphasis to his journey through the “game.”
The Lyrics
"Salutations, it's your Uncle Sam, and this is the great American game."
-Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam
What is the “game” though? It could be to represent Lamar’s life (the game of life) but I like the idea of this “game” connecting to the overall theme of America instead. Is The American Dream just a game?
"No no no no no! Too loud, too reckless — too ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up!"
-Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam
After Lamar opens up his set with Tiramisu and Squabble Up, Uncle Sam tries to control his performance by telling him how to play the game. But with an act of defiance, Kendrick Lamar responds by playing some of his loudest bangers, HUMBLE and DNA. (Is it a coincidence that both of these songs are also represented in all capital letters, as if to emphasize the loudness of them?)
It’s here that Kendrick Lamar presents his crew in the shape of the American flag, but be sure to notice how the flag is broken, or divided. I believe Lamar is trying to portray a broken America and emphasizing his pro-Black stance in the political climate. He isn’t afraid to speak out about the unfairness and issues with America, and his opening song, stating “The revolution is about to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy” shows his defiance and boldness.
The production also uses the audience to highlight messages such as “WARNING WRONG WAY”, which could go back to Kendrick Lamars opening line about being the wrong guy, or even show that America is heading in the wrong direction.
"Oh, you brought your homeboys with you, the old culture cheat code. Scorekeeper, deduct one life,"
-Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam
As a punishment for disobeying his orders to provide a less “ghetto” or “loud” performance, Uncle Sam deducts one life from the game. To show compliance, Lamar and SZA entertain the audience with All the Stars, a calm, popular, and slow song that was part of the Black Panther original soundtrack.
"That’s what America wants! Nice and calm. You're almost there, don't mess this... "
-Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam
Just as Uncle Sam is growing confident in his stance of providing a “safe” performance for America, Kendrick Lamar makes the crowd go wild with Not Like Us to give America what it really wants. Honestly, the drama is real with this song, and bringing Drake into this conversation would require many more deep dives so I won’t get into it. Although people think the final GAME OVER text was a direct message to Drake, I don’t think this was the case. As Lamar himself said “This is bigger than the music,” I think the GAME OVER message was to show that because the performance did not go the way Uncle Sam wanted, he was ultimately silenced into being forced to end his game.
-Neha
This newsletter is a tangent to our usual book talks and is coming from someone who is not a Kendrick Lamar superfan or a follower of American football. This is a disclaimer that these opinions are only my own and made just for fun! You can find a more in-depth analysis from a true fan here.
This week, we will be discussing The Fall of The House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe and What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher. The episode will be released on February 12th, 2025. Follow us on Instagram for more book and podcast content!
