Kendrick Lamar's big Super Bowl moment; will this performance be remembered as one of the classics

NEW ORLEANS - EntSun -- Christina L. Myers, Michigan State University, DME Music News

In the September 2024 NFL ad announcing Kendrick Lamar as the halftime performer at Super Bowl 59, the 37-year-old rapper stands before a colossal American flag, feeding footballs into a machine that launches the balls to wide receivers.

"Will you be pulling up? I hope so," he says, plugging his forthcoming appearance on one of the world's biggest stages, where the cultural stakes can be as high as the athletic ones. "Wear your best dress too, even if you're watching from home."

The casual yet evocative scene was classic Kendrick.

As a world-renowned Grammy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist, Lamar stands in a league of his own. His unflinching critiques of racial injustice, systemic inequality and the exploitation of Black culture have made him a boundary-pushing artist and cultural visionary.

My work examines how race and racism are constructed, represented and challenged in mass media, particularly in news, music and sports. I think the NFL's complicated history with social justice makes his participation even more significant.

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With a discography expansive enough to eclipse the time constraints of Sunday's game, I'm eager to see whether Lamar will weave his lyrical masterpieces into a performance that entertains, educates and challenges viewers.

During Beyoncé's 2016 appearance alongside headliner Bruno Mars, she paid homage to the Black Panthers, Malcolm X and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Dr. Dre's 2022 performance celebrated hip-hop's rise from a marginalized genre to a dominant cultural force.

To me, Lamar's Super Bowl appearance symbolizes a broader reckoning with how the NFL handles the tension between politics and corporate entertainment.

http://youtu.be/9N9yymfp7Es?si=WUTG9DQV2904sCtU



https://music.apple.com/us/album/classic-golden-voices-single/1794948662

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