For 13 non-stop, highly engaging minutes during halftime of Super Bowl LIX, Grammy award-winning hip-hop singer, Kendrick Lamar, did something never before seen on such a global stage. He was the first solo rap singer to headline the global show and, in addition to performing some of his most popular (and controversial) songs, he designed a show full of hidden symbolism.
The symbolism began as soon as the show’s host, “Uncle Sam,” played by Samuel L Jackson, appeared on camera. Lamar brought out Samuel L Jackson who proceeded to say, “This is the great American game” then revealed the stage itself in the shape of a video game. The image showed how America plays games with its citizens through capitalism, prisons and politics.
CSD student Holt Grier saw the symbolism right away.
“I thought having Samuel L Jackson play Uncle Sam was such a cool idea and flipped the idea of who can play Uncle Sam on its head,” Holt Grier (‘25) said.
Lamar then opened the show singing on top of a GNX car (titled after his latest album) which contained a group of his background dancers all wearing red, white and blue.
The dancers all came out of the same place but then grouped together in their matching colors to symbolize how many Americans of all walks of life come from the same place but seem to be divided according to skin color.
Throughout the show Lamar wears a blue jacket with the words “Gloria” written across the chest (which translates to glory in Spanish) referring to his connection with his music.
Lamar then proceeds to sing “Squabble Up” but is then interrupted by Uncle Sam who says the song is “too ghetto” and that he needs to “tighten up.” This represents authority, control and limiting free expression.
Lamar then proceeds to perform “Humble” in the middle of an American flag formed by dancers showing how the country is divided by the racial and political tension that the nation still faces today. Lamar performing “Humble” is his attempt to tone down his perception of being ghetto which then transitions into “DNA” revealing that being ghetto is who he is and that it’s his DNA.
He then proceeds to sing “Euphoria” in the middle of a prison courtyard and then once the song concludes the words “Waring Wrong Way” are seen across the audience symbolizing how the country is going in the wrong direction and how pursuing a life of crime can lead to prison and life in the wrong direction.
Lamar then performs “Man at the Garden” at a street light surrounded by a group of dancers who are actually a Compton based dance group showing how Lamar always represents where he’s from no matter where he is.
After “Man at the Garden” Uncle Sam says that he used a “Cultural Cheat Code” saying that he is using his roots and his show to win over the African American community.
After performing “Peekaboo” a group of dancers appear with Lamar saying “I want to perform their favorite song but you know they love to sue” referencing to how he wants to perform his hit song “Not Like Us” (which is a diss track aimed towards his rival Drake) but might not because he recently faced a lawsuit by Drake for defamation. He then says he’ll see if he performs the song with Uncle Sam stepping in and saying “You lost your damn mind” if he performs “Not Like Us.”
Lamar then proceeds to perform two of his more calm songs with SZA before Uncle Sam says, “That’s what America wants, nice and calm, you’re almost there don’t mess this up.”
Just moments later, the beat of “Not Like Us” shows that while Uncle Sam is suggesting Lamar keep the drama out of his show, Lamar has a different idea.
The symbolism continues. Lamar is then seen with his background dancers saying “you really gonna do it” showing how they’re in shock that he’s actually going to perform that song. Lamar then proceeds to officially perform “Not Like Us” by calling out Drake single handedly by pointing and smiling at the camera while saying “say Drake.”
CSD senior, Jack Parrot, noticed the symbolism right away.
“I thought it was very clever how he managed to sneak in many references to how the country is currently and many jabs towards Drake,” Jack Parrot (‘25) said.
Serena Williams then grabs everyone’s attention. A Compton native, her crip walk dance adds insult to injury towards Drake.
Lamar concludes the show with him performing “tv off” and as the final beat of the song plays Lamar smiles and points at the camera where then the camera shows the crowd with the words “Game Over” representing the end of the show and his beef with Drake officially ending.
