Super Bowl LIX is where the Eagles and the Chiefs faced off on America’s biggest stage on Sunday, February 9th, 2025. This wasn’t a game that many people were willing to tune into, since the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls in a row, and had been anticipated to go for a three-peat this year. However, the Chiefs were denied a three-peat by the Eagles, resulting in a shocking 40-22 score. But ask yourself, were you really watching the game?
The reason that almost everyone has tuned into the Super Bowl is because they knew that Kendrick Lamar was going to be performing at the Halftime Show, and knowing how successful he has been throughout 2024, people knew that they were in for a treat. To say that this halftime show was amazing would be an incredible understatement. It was the best halftime show in the history of the NFL since Michael Jackson’s 1993 performance, according to critics. The strength of the symbolism and messages in the performance was undeniable. This Halftime Show, however, had many diverse opinions, ranging from people saying that it was boring, or that it was amazing, or that the US administration wouldn’t approve of it. News reporters who shared their thoughts on it talked negatively about the performance, saying that Lamar was a rapper that “nobody knew,” and that someone else would’ve been better for this year’s halftime.
In the show itself, it unveiled a stage resembling a PlayStation controller, before it proceeded to input a cheat code from GTA, which sets the tone for exactly what the message of the performance will be. Afterward, the audience is met with a bellowing “Salutations!” Standing at the center was Samuel L. Jackson playing Uncle Sam. He continues by saying “And this is the great American game.” Uncle Sam represents America and its patriotic ideals, and he was a super popular marketing tool to get young men to join the US Army, essentially a marketing tool that gave citizens a choice when they were indecisive.
The “American game” in particular, is the game that America has the citizens play to live in this country, and the player in this instance is Lamar himself. Prior to Uncle Sam’s introduction, the camera shows the stands with dim lights that faintly spelled “Warning Wrong Way.” Just from the introduction alone, it proves that this will be more than just a performance, it will be the start of something bigger. When Lamar appears, he is seen crouching on top of a Grand National Experimental, more known as the “GNX” from his latest album titled GNX. He began rapping a song which was a trailer for GNX while dozens of black backup dancers popped out of the trunk and doors, scattering around the square portion of the stage in different groups. People believe that this means that although we’re seemingly equal in America, we’re ultimately divided among color.
The song concludes with a powerful jazz chord, followed by Lamar saying “The revolution ‘bout to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy.” Tiktok, YouTube, and other social media platforms have been speculating that the “wrong guy” he’s telling us about is the current president of the United States, and if you think back on what that man has done for the country in the past, it isn’t that far fetched to say this. What follows is a group vocal interlude, saying “Someone better squabble up,” and immediately after the song “squabble up” plays as Lamar displays a significant amount of pride and unapologeticness during the performance.
When the song ends, Uncle Sam chimes in frustrated at the performance, exclaiming that it was “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto.” Those words carry history behind them. Throughout history, black people were usually recognized in the wrong ways, treated as inferior, and were called negative things. Loud, reckless, and ghetto are prime examples of this. In white America, the people wouldn’t want something tough or unapologetic in their music, they’d rather prefer something calm or soft. That’s the type of music they want from black people, to be more like them.
Lamar responds to Uncle Sam’s pleas, with “Humble.” These are the things that go over people’s heads. This is more than a performance, it is a conversation between Lamar and Uncle Sam (white America) and is also a game being played by both respective sides. When this song is performed, it shows everything that this country wants the black community to follow. “Sit down, be humble.” The choreography explains itself, showing Lamar and the black backup dancers leaning from side to side. Fans across social media come to believe that this was a message saying that America is divided and built on the bodies of black people, which is all in fact true.
