Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl Performance: "The Revolution Will Be Televised"

Before his Super Bowl halftime show performance, Kendrick Lamar said people could expect "storytelling."

"I've always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music," he continued. "And I've always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I'm on."

That's exactly what Lamar did on February 9, with his performance making use of the multiple camera angles and creatively censoring his lyrics to formulate a show that was more like an extended music video than your typical halftime show. And in line with the rapper's oeuvre, this was a visual spectacle of resistance replete with symbolism, from dancers dressed in fully white, blue or red sweatsuits and Samuel L. Jackson dressed as Uncle Sam.

"This is the great American game," Jackson said, as the cameras panned to the stage, which appeared as a giant tic-tac-toe board. After "Uncle Sam" introduced the performance, a spotlight illuminated the Compton-born rapper sitting on the hood of a Buick Grand National GNX, a nod to his latest album, GNX. Another reference to the album could be seen on a patch sewed onto Lamar's jacket, which read Gloria, as he kicked off the set with an unreleased track fans know as "Bodies" before going into his latest hit, "Squabble Up."

Dancers, who appeared to tumble from the carm surrounded the rapper, whose body seemed to be an extension of each beat. "The revolution's about to be televised," Lamar chanted. "You picked the right time but the wrong guy."

At that point, the camera swept back to Jackson, who looked bewildered. "No, no, no!" he shouted. "Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Tighten up!"

And Lamar launched into "Humble," as the red, white and blue dancers swelled around him. The song was followed by "D.N.A.," another hit off of his 2017 album, Damn., which made Lamar the first non-classical or jazz musician to receive the Pulitzer Prize for music. It could be called a political moment, one that underscored this performance as Lamar used his platform as a megaphone.

After renditions of "Man at the Garden" and "Peekaboo," Lamar began to tease his recent five-Grammy-winning hit, "Not Like Us," before pivoting to perform "All the Stars" and "Luther" with special guest SZA, soothing R&B tunes that served as a palate-cleanser — at least for Uncle Sam. "That's what America is," Jackson beamed, "nice and calm."

Then bam: Lamar rapidly began "Not Like Us."
"Say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young/you better not ever go to cell block one." Released last May, the seering salvo ordinarily directly calls Drake and his crew pedophiles, but Lamar opted to replace that particular word with a scream. (After all, the former Degrassi: Next Generation actor sued Universal Music Group — his own label, by the way — and Lamar in the wake of the release.) However, there was a line he kept in that the whole stadium was waiting to sing along to: "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-Minorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Lamar then went into the final song "TV Off," for which he was joined by producer Mustard, who lent his own bars. The song was a poignant finale, known for its lyrics about subversion, complacency, police brutality and revolution, and the need to stay informed. Self-reliance is crucial.

"I'm prophetic," Lamar rapped. "They only talk about how I get it."

Hip-hop has been expected for Super Bowl halftime shows since 2019, when Roc Nation, Jay Z's label, signed a longterm contract with the NFL. Yet since then, people have found cause to complain about the acts, whether it was because Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's show was bilingual and included a pole dance in 2021, or because Eminem took a knee while performing with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Lamar in 2022. The biggest fuss to come out of Rihanna's show in 2023 was the revelation that she was pregnant, and Usher's performance last year was the furthest thing from controversy with a fleet of rollerbladers.

But when it came to Lamar, it was clear he meant to make a point, if only to make people think for a moment. He did what he came to do, as he put it in "TV Off": "Walk in New Orleans with the etiquette of L.A., yellin'."