The rapper insists he’s a musician, not a messiah—a message bolstered by his Tremendous Bowl efficiency.
The Tremendous Bowl halftime present is a chance for large, dumb enjoyable: explosions, laser exhibits, left sharks. However large, dumb enjoyable isn’t Kendrick Lamar’s factor. The 37-year-old Los Angeles rapper and Pulitzer Prize winner prefers subtlety, smarts, and enjoyable that’s tinged by hazard and unease. Amid powerful, tense circumstances, he placed on a troublesome, tense—and fairly satisfying—present.
The occasion framed itself in self aware phrases. “That is the nice American recreation,” Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, introduced at first. He in all probability wasn’t simply referring to soccer. Lamar himself was about to run a well-known inventive gauntlet: the battle to maintain one’s integrity intact whereas entertaining the plenty. The stage was arrange in a tic-tac-toe design, and Jackson popped up at numerous different occasions to attain the proceedings. Lamar rapped with intense focus, nailing each little bit of elegantly herky-jerky choreography. However his face additionally conveyed anxiousness, even concern. We knew that he knew he was being watched.
One of many individuals watching was Donald Trump, in attendance in New Orleans as a quick break from upending the federal authorities. Lamar is broadly seen as the social conscience of his technology of rappers, and he knew he was anticipated to make a press release of some type. “The revolution’s about to be televised,” Lamar introduced early on. However, he added, “You picked the best time however the improper man.” One doable which means: I’m not your revolutionary. It’s the identical message he’s repeatedly conveyed on his albums over time, replying to onlookers who need him to be extra of a messiah than a musician.
Even so, he flirted with politics in the course of the efficiency. Lamar rapped from the hood of a Buick GNX—the automobile that he, on his newest album, has held up as a symbolic trophy of his battle to outlive the violence and poverty he was raised amid in gangland Compton. His dancers’ pink, white, and blue outfits evoked Crips and Bloods, which made it a bit beautiful once they lined as much as type an American flag, and raised their fists in what appeared just like the Black Energy salute. Right here was a imaginative and prescient of American satisfaction from a gaggle typically locked out of the American dream. But in addition, right here was a rapper enjoying that “nice American recreation,” upsetting whereas staying patriotic.
(A sharper little bit of messaging was spelled out when certainly one of Lamar’s dancers unfurled a flag representing Gaza and Sudan. The performer was tackled by safety; “Nobody concerned with the manufacturing was conscious of the person’s intent,” the N.F.L. mentioned in a press release afterwards.)
Arguably the larger danger Lamar took was in egging on his feud with Drake, which has embroiled the hip-hop world for almost a 12 months. Lamar has been driving a wave of popularity of his diss monitor “Not Like Us,” which catchily claims Drake to be a pedophile. Drake has denied the track’s allegations and sued Common Music Group, the label that the 2 rappers share, for selling defamatory materials. Lamar’s track gained Tune of the 12 months and Document of the 12 months ultimately week’s Grammys, besides, it appeared doable his personal legal professionals would forbid him from enjoying the track on dwell TV.
Lamar made a meal out of this suspense. “I need to carry out their favourite track, however you already know they like to sue,” he mentioned halfway by way of the set earlier than a snippet of the monitor’s beat performed. When he lastly launched into the total track, he scooted ahead on stage because the digicam moved backwards, as if he had been stalking prey simply behind the lens. When Lamar lastly mentioned Drake’s title, he cocked his head and gave certainly one of his solely smiles of the night time: a devious, cartoon-villain grin.
This was the second that the halftime present went from studious artwork piece to hall-of-fame-worthy TV. The sector hooted for the track’s nastiest punchline alleging underage predilections: “Tryna ring a bell and it is in all probability A minor.” Serena Williams, the tennis legend who occurs to be certainly one of Drake’s exes, made a shock look, clearly having a blast. On this rap battle, Lamar has styled himself as a power for good, a protector of hip-hop’s authenticity. However because the halftime present reached its full, delirious peak, the burden of righteousness appeared to soften away—leaving, merely, an excellent entertainer.
