Wait, Back Up… Who is Kendrick Lamar?
Lamar is one of the most influential and decorated hip-hop artists of all time. He has won twenty-two Grammys, as well as the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music for “capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”1 Lamar grew up in Compton, CA, no stranger to the realities of poverty and violence that run through the narratives of many of his albums.
Lamar has always been a stand-out rapper because of how he weaves personal experience and provocative social commentary into compelling narratives. While many big-name rappers’ lyrics are about money, sex, drugs, and fame, with no significance beyond that, Lamar always has a bigger picture in mind. Lamar’s fan base spans demographics, as many people who have had different life experiences are compelled by the authenticity and conviction with which Lamar shares stories through music.
In the last year or so, Lamar has been in the spotlight most frequently for his controversial feud with Canadian rapper Drake. Lamar made several clear jabs at Drake in the Super Bowl show, so the Kendrick/Drake feud is the only thing many people took away from the performance. But, as usual, Lamar’s performance was about much more than the obvious.’
What Did Lamar’s Halftime Show Mean?
Many of Lamar’s albums are stories. To be understood, they need to be listened to as a single narrative rather than a collection of songs. Lamar’s halftime show, too, was a story. While there were several levels of meaning, Samuel L. Jackson’s “Uncle Sam” character gives us the key to one level of the meaning of Lamar’s halftime show.
Jackson, outfitted in a Stars-and-Stripes top hat to portray the iconic personification of the United States, introduced the halftime show with the announcement: “Salutations! It’s your Uncle Sam, and this is the Great American Game!” On one level, “The Great American Game” referred to the Super Bowl game itself, but it also referred to Lamar as “playing the American Game” as a rapper, an entertainer, and a black man. Periodically during Lamar’s performance, Jackson would interrupt to give more commentary, directing the storyline of the show.
Lamar opened the show with the song “Squabble Up,” a phrase that can mean both “get ready to dance” and “get ready to fight.” The juxtaposition of dancing and fighting could be intended to draw attention both to Lamar’s role as an entertainer as well as his origins in Compton, where violence was a regular feature of life. It could point to the public’s expectation for him to be entertaining, as well as Lamar’s intention to break those expectations and spark controversy with his music.
But Uncle Sam interrupts Lamar’s performance, shouting, “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!” It’s clear that Lamar isn’t playing the role that’s expected of him.
Lamar plays several more songs that “Uncle Sam” disapproves of, before finally performing a couple of songs Uncle Sam approves of. Uncle Sam responds by saying, “Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! That’s what America wants! Nice, calm… you’re almost there.” But just as “Uncle Sam” starts to warn Lamar, “Don’t mess this up,” Lamar jumps into “Not Like Us,” another song Uncle Sam disapproves of.
“Not Like Us” is a diss track aimed at rapper Drake, but is more than that. In his halftime performance, Lamar begins the song saying, “Forty acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music,” making it clear it should be understood as a statement about race in America.
As one writer put it, “Ultimately, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance is a self-reflective examination of his role as an artist on an entertainer’s stage, with Samuel L. Jackson’s Uncle Sam there to represent the prodding force of American media and politics.”2
Lamar’s halftime show is Lamar self-consciously declaring that he won’t give America what it wants. He refuses to perform “just as an entertainer,” but rather intentionally, if subtly, pulls in controversial topics likely to make some of his audience upset. He will not keep quiet on topics that many people think are better left out of football games and entertainment. He knows how to “play the game” in the sense that he has become one of the most successful entertainers of his time, but at the same time he is refusing to play by anyone’s rules but his own.
The final song Lamar performed at Super Bowl LIX was “tv off,” a song that admonishes listeners to rise above mediocrity and distraction, to “turn this TV off” and stay focused on their purpose.3 His parting words can be seen as an admonishment to the 128 million people sitting in front of a screen watching his performance—turn the TV off and do something more meaningful.
Renewing Our Minds
Digging deeper into the messages in Lamar’s halftime show reminds us that entertainment is not “just entertainment.” Entertainment is always underpinned by a worldview (or multiple worldviews), but those beliefs don’t usually come through as easily dissectable “worldview statements.” Rather, the worldviews underpinning entertainment often come through narratives that must be unraveled, and Lamar is a good example of an entertainer whose worldview is hard to pin down.
Lamar is no saint. He is, however, a great storyteller. His music demands that his audience think deeply and wrestle with difficult questions. His Super Bowl performance was no exception. Without necessarily agreeing with the particular messages Lamar alluded to, Christians can be reminded by Lamar of Romans 12:2 (NIV): “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Lamar’s halftime storyline is about refusing to conform to the world—in his case, refusing to conform to “what America wants.” Christians, too, must avoid conforming to the world or “what America wants.” It is far too easy to lose sight of what it means to follow Christ and get it mixed up with conforming to what America, a particular political party or social cause, or “the world” wants.
Furthermore, Lamar encourages his audience to think more deeply by bringing layers of meaning to what could be “just entertainment.” Lamar actually encourages his audience to think critically about what he is saying and what others are saying. For Christians, this means being engaged and thoughtful, discerning between good and evil. Lamar may not himself be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), but he can serve as a reminder to Christians that we need to be salt and light, refusing to give into cultural pressures.