Kendrick Lamar's Halftime Show Was a Cultural Reset

By Simone Stephen

Kendrick Lamar didn’t just perform at Super Bowl LIX — he made history. This wasn’t just a halftime show. It was a statement, a celebration of hip-hop’s dominance, and possibly the pettiest Super Bowl moment of all time.

The first solo rapper to headline the Super Bowl, Kendrick turned the biggest stage in sports into a musical and cultural masterpiece. It started with Samuel L. Jackson dressed as Uncle Sam, looking straight into the camera and growling, “It’s your Uncle Sam.” That moment alone set the tone. This was about Black power, capitalism, and control — recurring themes in Kendrick’s music.

The message was clear: This wasn’t just another performance. This was hip-hop staking its claim on the most-watched event in America. Kendrick ran through “Swimming Pools,” “DNA,” “HUMBLE,” and “Alright,” each song feeling like a declaration.

The choreography was militant, the energy unfiltered, and the message undeniable — hip-hop wasn’t just here, it owned the Super Bowl.

His dancers moved in perfect sync, their steps sharp, almost militaristic. Every visual choice — from the stage setup to the camera angles — felt intentional, reinforcing Kendrick’s signature themes of discipline and defiance.

And then, he paused. Smirked. “I wanna play your favorite song … but they like to sue.”

The beat for “Not Like Us” dropped, and the entire stadium erupted, chanting “A minor.”

A diss track aimed at Drake was now a Super Bowl moment. Fans weren’t just vibing — they were participating, turning a petty internet joke into a real-life sports arena chant.

At a watch party, Xavier Etter, a longtime Kendrick fan, summed it up in the moment: “Kendrick just turned the Super Bowl into a Summer Jam.” Etter, of Toano, Virginia, is a Hampton University business major.

Meanwhile, Jamal Richardson, who had been following the Kendrick-Drake beef all year, shook his head and laughed, “This man just performed a diss track at the Super Bowl! Bro, I know Drake is somewhere pacing in a turtleneck, stress-eating grapes.”

Another stunned viewer put it bluntly: “Drake didn’t just lose a rap battle. He lost on one of the biggest stages in the world. This is beyond rap at this point.”

And then, as if things couldn’t get any more surreal, Serena Williams crip walked. Yes, Serena Williams. Crip walking. At the Super Bowl.

At that moment, this performance stopped being just about music. It became a cultural takeover. Serena’s presence, whether intentional or spontaneous, felt like an exclamation point on everything Kendrick had just done. A crip walk on a stage that has long tried to sanitize hip-hop? That wasn’t just a dance move — it was a statement. This wasn’t just about rap beef. This was about hip-hop cementing its place in mainstream America.

For years, the Super Bowl halftime show avoided hip-hop’s rawest, most authentic forms. Even in 2022, when Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem took center stage, it was a collective nod to hip-hop’s history, carefully packaged for broad appeal.

But Kendrick? Kendrick didn’t water anything down. He didn’t compromise. He brought Compton to the Super Bowl and left it exactly as it was supposed to be — loud, proud, and undeniably Black.

Jamal Richardson put it perfectly: “The last time a Super Bowl halftime show felt this Black was Beyoncé in 2016. But this? This was different. This was personal.”

And now? The world is waiting to see how Drake responds. Because Kendrick didn’t just win this rap beef — he turned it into a Super Bowl moment. And honestly… How does Drake even come back from this?

The writer is a student in the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications