The infamous halftime show at the annual Super Bowl is always a constant source of conversation, long after the game ends and a team wins. Only the most famous and best celebrities get the chance to perform at this event, solidifying their name among the greats. The biggest stars like Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, The Rolling Stones and Prince have all performed at this sought after event. This year, at Super Bowl LIX, rapper Kendrick Lamar performed, and the show featured Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, Mustard and Serena Williams.
Lamar performed a plethora of songs at the halftime show. The setlist featured, “squabble up”, “HUMBLE.”, “DNA”, “Euphoria”, “Man at the Garden”, “peekaboo”, “luther”, “All the Stars”, “Not Like Us” and “TV Off”. All of those songs collectively have over 8 billion streams on Spotify alone. “Not Like Us” swept all the Grammy categories it was nominated for, winning five: Best Music Video, Record of the Year, Best Rap Song, Song of the Year, and Best Rap Performance. Lamar performed two of his Drake diss-tracks at the halftime show: “Not Like Us” and “Euphoria”. Kendrick teased “Not Like Us” four times throughout the night, saying the third time; “I want to play their favorite song, but you know they love to sue.” Lamar said this because him, along with Universal Music Group, are in the midst of a lawsuit from Drake.
Symbolism seemed to be the key theme at the Super Bowl LIX. First with Samuel L. Jackson. “The American Dream” was Kendrick’s theme for the halftime show, hence the reason Jackson was dressed in Uncle Sam like attire. He represented different virtue’s directed towards the African American race. For instance, when he called Kendrick’s way of communication “too ghetto”, which were comments political commentators Tipper Gore and Geraldo Rivera made leading up to Kendrick’s performance. Lamar’s goal with his performance was to tell his story of the “American Dream” coming from Compton, California. During “squabble up” the backup dancers formed a separated American flag, later in the song they came together as one flag, this represents getting past hardships and coming together as a country.
Lamar also made some other jabs at Drake during this halftime show. Lamar performed two songs: “All the Stars” and “luther” with SZA, who happens to be one of Drake’s exes, which he reveals in his 2020 song “Mr. Right Now” with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. Also, during “Not Like Us”, Serena Williams can be seen “Crip Walking” and Williams is also one of Drake’s exes.
Kendrick ended with a performance of one of his top songs “tv off” with DJ Mustard. Mustard created the beats for “Not Like Us” and “tv off”. Kendrick made his way off the stage after the show, and the game resumed. The final scare was 40-22, with the Philadelphia Eagles bring home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.