Given the NFL’s decision to remove the “End Racism” message from the endzone in the Superdome mere days before the Super Bowl, I was astonished and delighted that game day events so prominently centered Blackness. From the opening performances with the Southern University Human Jukebox Marching Band, featuring the all-female brass ensemble The Original Pinettes, and Ledisi’s lovely rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” to Trombone Shorty, with Lauren Daigle, infusing touches of jazz into “America the Beautiful” and Jon Baptiste delivering what may have been the most soulful “Star Spangled Banner” ever, the tone was absolutely set. Given current efforts to eradicate Black culture and history all together, this centering was all the more meaningful.
Of course, the pièce de rèsistance was Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. Uncle Sam, played to perfection by Samuel Jackson, kicked off festivities, “This is the Great American Game,” a double entendre that would resonate throughout. From the opening teaser of “GNX,” with Kendrick perched on top of a Buick, bathed in a pool of light, this thirteen-minute phenomenon layered rap, music and dance to tell the story of the Black experience in America. Culling from his musical opus, Kendrick performed with a steady ferocity that was mesmerizing. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Here and there, Uncle Sam expressed concerns: “Too loud. Too reckless. Too ghetto. Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game?” When Kendrick and special guest SZA slowed things down with “Luther” and “All the Stars,” Uncle Sam was appeased: “That’s what I’m talking about. That’s what America wants.” The show was visually stunning. Dancers dressed in red, white and blue moved across a stage that resembled a PlayStation controller. During “Humble” they configured their bodies into the shape of an American flag. The imagery was spectacular. The unambiguous message was even more so. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Serena Williams doing the Crip Walk during “Not Like Us.” It was the chef’s kiss in my mind.
This performance was bold, powerful and antithetical to everything that is going on right now. Kendrick Lamar took control of the narrative and on the biggest stage possible. It was not surprising that droves of outraged white folks–buttocks firmly clinched and boxers sufficiently bunched–took to social media afterward to share their disapproval and negative reviews. They were shocked that the show did not adhere to white dominate culture’s vision of what a Super Bowl halftime should be. Their dismay would almost be funny if it weren’t so disappointing. It wasn’t about them. And they couldn’t fucking stand it.
White supremacy is the reason we’re in this horrific mess. Full stop.
At Super Bowl LIX, Kendrick Lamar gave a master class in Resistance.
“The revolution will be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” – Kendrick Lamar
