Why was Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime so bad?
Many have praised Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance, and some have even suggested that it could be one of the best hip-hop halftime shows ever. However, many people didn’t enjoy it or particularly understand it. It is undoubtedly true that Kendrick Lamar is a talented emcee who has fantastic songs. Still, his Super Bowl performance was underwhelming, to say the least.
Although Kendrick Lamar’s messaging was very on brand, and the Easter eggs, including much of the symbolism, were ingenious, his choice of tracks and special appearances was more than poor. Many songs that made the culture fall in love with the Compton lyricist were missing, and the entire show seemed like a build-up to the performance of ‘Not Like Us’.
Unlike Dr Dre’s 2022 halftime performance, K Dot didn’t meticulously guide viewers through his career from 2009 to now but instead placed a heavy emphasis on his most recent material. This, if anything, made the show feel like a recap of the last five years as opposed to a phased journey through his life musically. As a thoroughbred TDE Compton rapper, many people in the culture assumed he would throwback to his days as a member of the Black Hippy collective and maybe show love to MCs such as Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q, but this wasn’t the case. Furthermore, people thought that he might offer up a surprise like ‘HiiiPower’, his highly acclaimed 2011 debut single, but that wasn’t the case.
Fans got a surprise appearance from Serena Williams and knew precisely why she was there. However, it again was tied to ‘Not Like Us’ and his feud with Drake, which unfortunately overshadowed the whole performance.
As a simple onlooker, it appears that much of the lyricist’s performance was geared towards Drake. The DAMN creator wore a chain with the musical symbol for “A-minor”, and several dancers had flags to the same effect. However, in no way did any of these things encapsulate Lamar’s illustrious career prior to 2024. Beloved tracks such as ‘Backseat Freestyle’ and ‘Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe’ were noticeably absent. The artist also didn’t perform one song from his beloved album To Pimp A Butterfly.
While Lamar performed zero songs from his first three projects, he chose instead to perform a slew of songs from his 2024 album GNX and two diss tracks. One of his special guests was SZA, with whom he will soon be going on tour. It lacked the sense of journey that a Super Bowl halftime show requires. Although Dr Dre has had a longer career than Lamar, he showed every step of his career with his setlist so fans could sonically arrive at the present and brought out artists who have been essential to his life, such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.
Meanwhile, K Dot brought out the vocalist, who will join him on tour for a quasi-promotional performance. Whether it’s Section.80, Good Kid m.A.A.D City or To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick left out vast swathes of his catalogue in favour of more current and recent music, which really didn’t showcase his full talent.
Unfortunately, despite the exceptional metaphors with “Uncle Sam” and the US flag, the setlist made Lamar’s performance feel like a televised GNX listening party with a hint of DAMN overshadowed by a beef that should have taken a back seat.
‘Not Like Us’ was an essential song to play, but ‘Euphoria’ was not. Some older material would have gone a long way in showing his musical arc, and the over-emphasis on jabs at Drake wasn’t necessary, considering he has already been declared the winner in the feud.