By Dr. RB
President and CEO at THEACADEMY365
How will you play the game?
Super Bowl LIX, Kendrick Lamar transformed the Super Bowl halftime show into a searing manifesto—a performance that transcended entertainment to reveal the deeper, darker mechanics of power in our society. While many tuned in for spectacle, those with a discerning eye recognized that Kendrick wasn’t just addressing race. He was calling out the media and music industry’s puppet masters, the ones who manufacture division for profit.
The Opening Beat: Awakening the Sleeper
Kendrick’s performance opened with a deliberate nod to Dead Prez’s “Bigger Than Hip-Hop.” If you didn’t catch that reference, it’s time to wake up—this wasn’t a casual homage, but a rallying cry. The beat wasn’t merely musical; it was a provocation, urging us to question the status quo and recognize that the art we consume is steeped in resistance.
Dancing Beyond the Rhythm
When the first song—“When I Hear Music, It Makes Me Dance”—filled the air, the dancing on stage was anything but frivolous. Each step and sway symbolized how we’ve been conditioned to perform, to keep moving and smiling, rather than stopping to reflect on the forces controlling our lives. It was a vivid depiction of a society that prizes distraction over introspection.
Uncle Sam(uel L. Jackson) and the Stacked Deck
Kendrick introduced a figure reminiscent of Uncle Sam, evoking images of Samuel L. Jackson laying down “the rules of the game.” These are the same rules that have historically stacked the deck against us. The performance’s subtext reminded us that when we gather as a community, the powers that be see a threat—an opportunity to divide us through violence, systemic injustice, and media narratives that reinforce the “too many Black folks on the corner” stereotype.
Squid Games and the Spectacle of Exploitation
In a striking visual callback, elements of Squid Game symbolism were interwoven into the show—an allegory for the rich exploiting the poor for entertainment. This imagery is all too familiar: a world where rappers feud, lives are lost, and the media profits off every tragic twist. Kendrick’s deliberate use of this metaphor forces us to confront a system that treats human existence like a high-stakes game, a distraction engineered to keep us divided and compliant.
The System’s Distractions and the Cultural Dilution
Even the appearances of mega-stars like Drake, whose fame is leveraged to promote artists like Sexyy Redd, play into this narrative. Their roles in the performance underscore a broader truth: while we’re busy being entertained, the cultural core is being diluted. The show’s dancers—clad in red, white, and blue—weren’t just performers; they were a living, moving American flag, a reminder that for generations, we’ve been made to dance to a drumbeat that isn’t ours.
The Stage as a Giant PlayStation
Kendrick turned the stage into a metaphorical giant PlayStation—a game designed by the powers that be to keep us distracted, divided, and even imprisoned both physically and mentally. It was a bold statement: our lives are not meant to be mere pawns in an endless cycle of manufactured entertainment.
A Call to Protect and Empower
Amid these layered messages was a subtle yet potent call to protect Black women—a nod to the struggles of icons like Serena Williams, who have long been disrespected and marginalized by the very systems Kendrick critiques. This wasn’t just a performance; it was an act of cultural self-defense.
The Bottom Line: More Than Entertainment
The essence of Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance wasn’t about Drake or any singular pop-culture figure. It was about what they represent: the commercialization of Black culture designed to serve systems that don’t serve us. As Malcolm X once warned about media puppets, Kendrick’s performance is a wake-up call, challenging us to see beyond the glitter and glamour to the reality of our manipulated existence.
Your Challenge: Reflect or React?
If you felt disrespected or even confused, perhaps that was exactly the point. Art is meant to challenge, not merely to entertain. So next time you scroll through your feed and see complaints that the performance “wasn’t entertaining enough,” ask yourself: Are you mad at the message—or the mirror it’s holding up?
Kendrick Lamar is, without question, the most creative genius in hip-hop history. His performance wasn’t designed to comfort; it was designed to revolutionize. It’s time we stop tolerating entertainers planted to pacify us and start engaging with the hard truths they reveal. Art isn’t always fun. Art is revolution.
BY Dr. RB
President and CEO at THEACADEMY365
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