Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show featured several of his hit songs, powerful female celebrities, and lots of fiery backup dancers. The performance gained millions of views, way more than the actual football game itself, leading to several opinions stemming from the show. Behind all the flashing lights, are symbolic components Lamar incorporated into this well-thought masterpiece.

The show starts out with an introduction from actor Samuel L.  Jackson, dressed up as the American virtue Uncle Sam. Lamar starts off by announcing the phrase, “The revolution bout to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy,” followed by his first couple of songs such as “Squabble Up.” This is quickly interrupted by Jackson quoting how Lamar’s rap is “too loud, too reckless, too…ghetto.” 

This comment by Jackson resonates the common qualities of Uncle Sam; and arguably, this country — confidence, individuality, and racism. He comments on the very insulting, typical black stereotype of rap being messy and ‘ghetto’. Black music has been disrespected for centuries, people fail to appreciate the rich culture. When Jackson states this, he is calling out the racist parts of our country, making them self aware.

Later in the show, Lamar delivers a line that has now been circulating on social media for weeks. “40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music. They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.” The 40 acres and a mule quote isn’t just a random analogy, it holds so much history. 

But during the fast paced show, it’s easy to overlook the things that Lamar says, especially since there’s so much going on. What stands out the most, however, is the larger picture: a Black artist and all Black backup dancer crew on one of the biggest stages in America.

Junior Lila Franklin shared her view on the social commentary Lamar is expressing in his performance.

“In America, there’s a lot of political things that happen and people of marginalized communities are just expected to be okay with not being represented and being looked over. And this is kind of like flipping the tables and the social commentary from that really exemplifies how when the tables are turned, the people who were not a part of the marginalized communities are really uncomfortable and they see how it feels for once,” Franklin said.

In 1865, William Tecumseh Sherman issued special field order no. 15, promising newly freed black slaves ‘40 acres and a mule’ to help them on their feet in terms of wealth and lifestyle. This was under Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, but after he was assassinated, President Andrew Johnson reversed this order. Johnson gave these acres of land back to Confederate owners, breaking the promises to the Black slaves who suffered so much. This left such a harsh impact, causing Black families to struggle with wealth and took away generational opportunities for years to come. The history behind ‘40 acres and a mule’ should be taught in all schools — how the assassination of the president who wrote the Emancipation Proclamation caused a new leader to be in charge, dismantling this promise. 

The way in which Lamar snuck this into his performance proves true to be ‘bigger than music’. In all of the pieces performed he made sure to show the hardships it took for his people, and for him to get there on that stage.

SZA joined Lamar on stage halfway through the performance, and her voice was like no other. Junior Thomas Marshall shared his favorite aspects of the show. “Just all of SZA. ‘All the Stars’ and ‘Luther,’” Marshall said.

Marshall also discussed what he noticed during the show. “All the dancers were dressed in American flag colors and the flag was split, so it kind of represented how the country is basically split right now politically,” Marshall said.

Right after SZA’s performance, the crowd went crazy, but Jackson had one last thing to say. “That’s what America wants. Nice, calm…don’t mess this — .” As soon as he was about to finish his sentence with ‘up’, Lamar jumped into another one of his songs. 

Again, this was a very fast-paced interaction, but easy to digest. SZA’s music is more ‘nice’ and ‘calm’, a very different style than Lamar’s yet they pair beautifully together. Uncle Sam commented on how SZA’s singing was more socially acceptable because it adhered to the white audience more; again, another racist remark by Uncle Sam. 

This halftime show will be one to remember. Even a few weeks following, the performance still rings in people’s heads. There were so many details that made this show so unique, so powerful, and so much more than music.