Between the first and second half of Eagle dominance in Super Bowl LIV, the biggest rapper in the game took to the stage to perform his most recent tracks Feb. 9. Kendrick Lamar performed a staggering 10 songs during his brief 13-minute allotted showtime, which included an introduction from Samuel L. Jackson posing as Uncle Sam.
Lamar wasn’t alone on stage though, as one of his most notable collaborators, SZA, shared the stage with him. Although SZA duetted with Lamar for two of their songs, I was left wanting more overall from the performance. SZA needed more screen time, and most of my favorite songs were cut seemingly too short. SZA, I thought, brought energy that Lamar himself was missing in his performance.
Lamar’s show included many cool props and sets that helped lift the vibe a little. One iconic shot of his backup dancers forming an American flag looked stellar during his song “HUMBLE.,” and the GNX Buick Lamar and his dancers came out of was an awesome opening. Lamar’s stage was also unique, with many different backgrounds and changes of scenery which helped keep the audience engaged. However, the detriment with a stage that big is that Lamar often was spending too much time traveling back and forth between all his stages and sets.
Lamar’s theme of an America united, with all his backup dancers dressed in red, white and blue, helped deliver a clear “anti-hate” message. “I get that you could find it boring if you aren’t into [Lamar] musically, but he had a chance to give a message and he did, so I admire him for that,” junior Aliyah Dania said.
Some low points performance-wise were “peek-a-boo” and “squabble up,” as I felt like the energy was struggling to shine through in songs with slower beaters and less backup dancers. Lamar’s own choreography was also weak during these performances.
High points were “All the Stars” with SZA’s reveal, as well as the “HUMBLE.” delivery and dance. Lamar’s many fake-offs of trying to perform his five-time Grammy winning song “Not Like Us,” added some fun and personality to his performance, and the finale was easily the best part of the show. The mash-up of “Not Like Us” and “tv off” was a clever combination that brought vibes to an all-time high.
Someone better check on Drake to see if he’s alive, because Lamar did not hold back in his finale. Not only did Serena Williams, Drake’s ex-situationship, join Lamar on the stage as a dancer, the NFL purposefully unmuted the crowd during Lamar’s iconic “a minorrrrr” line to reveal the sheer noise of the audience singing along. When Lamar sang “Say Drake, I hate you like I’m young,” he looked directly at the camera and smiled, leaving many audience members including myself shocked and impressed at his nerve. This Super Bowl also marks the first time a diss song (“Not Like Us”) has made the halftime show stage.
With DJ Mustard joining Lamar for his last performance of “tv off,” the show ended on the highest note and solidified even further the success of Lamar in his rap-beef with Drake. With Lamar’s final lyrics, “turn this TV off,” all the lights of the stadium shut off and “GAME OVER” was projected into the crowd. While this stellar ending left me laughing, I was also left craving more of the high energy Lamar brought for his last songs.
Overall, Lamar chose great, mostly upbeat songs for his performance and his guest stars helped create an amazing show, but the dancing and choreography is something Lamar will need to work on for his Grand National Tour kicking off in April. I also wished Lamar chose a different opening song and excluded songs like “man in the garden” so we could get more SZA and longer versions of songs.
Watch the full Super Bowl Halftime Show, powered by Apple Music, here.
Lamar wore a chain that had a lowercase A on it, or otherwise called, a minor. This hinted at Lamar dissing Drake even before he made it to his performance of “Not Like Us.” (Photo/Apple Music)
