On Sunday, Feb. 9, Kendrick Lamar and SZA performed to a record-breaking TV audience of 133.5 million viewers during the Super Bowl halftime show. The performance was met with mixed reviews, with some students praising it and others thinking it was underwhelming.
Lamar’s lyrics are often politically charged, tackling issues like racism, discrimination and social division, all prominent themes in his symbolism-laden halftime performance. Dancers dressed in red, white and blue stood in a formation representing the American flag, with Lamar dividing it by standing in the middle. “He used the performance to explore the current political climate of America in a very modern and relevant way,” sophomore Kieran Farrell said.
“When you look at it from a superficial level, it seems pretty standard, but when you look at the underlying message of what Kendrick was saying, it’s so profound and so deep and so political,” senior Elena Valdez said.
However, others questioned the relevance of Lamar’s imagery. “I think Kendrick Lamar thinks he’s so clever, but he’s really not saying anything that crazy,” junior Alec Donath said. “It’s this pseudo-intellectual, buzzword fest. I think he strives to achieve this image as almost, like, a tortured poet, but I don’t think he’s actually that creative.”
Opinions regarding the overall quality of the performance also varied. “I thought it was a good setlist,” sophomore Jana Abdel-Gawad said. “I thought the choreography was really cool—that was my favorite part of the show.”
Sophomore Ahren Sidhu disagreed. “The only thing good was SZA,” Sidhu said. “She could actually sing and Kendrick wasn’t very good.”
Lamar previously performed in the 2022 halftime show as part of a joint headliner with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige. “I liked [the 2022 show] more because he wasn’t trying to be this ‘intellectual hero of the youth;’ he was just doing his song,” Donath said.
“I thought it was better than the first time Kendrick [performed],” senior Henry Cohen said. “I think we’ll remember Kendrick’s [halftime show performance] more than we’ll remember Usher’s, but I really loved Usher’s.” Usher headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2024.
“I think that there were definitely better halftime performances in the past,” sophomore Mina Holtzman said. “I think Rihanna played all the songs she needed to, and I think Kendrick could’ve played more songs.”
The show also included surprise cameos from producer Mustard, actor Samuel L. Jackson and retired tennis player Serena Williams. Jackson portrayed the prominent American figure Uncle Sam and narrated the performance. Jackson’s character criticized Lamar, calling him “too loud,” “too reckless” and “too ghetto.”
Williams, who, like Lamar, was born in Compton, California, danced during Lamar’s performance of his single “Not Like Us.” “The Serena feature was so funny. I thought it was a crazy pick for a feature,” Abdel-Gawad said. “She and Drake used to date, so it was a direct callout.”
The censorship of Lamar’s profanity during the performance was noticeable. Many students agreed that censoring curse words was understandable, but distracting.
Rap is rooted in wordplay, so taking away certain words does make an impact, as some students noted. “I think it’s harder to do rap for the Super Bowl, especially because you have to cut out a lot of your words and really your power is your words,” Cohen said.
“I’m not a big fan of censoring, especially for something like rap because I think it’s a form of American art,” Valdez said. “I think of it like when you go into the Louvre and you see naked statues; they don’t censor that.”
For Holtzman, however, one particular detail stood out. “Oh, and another thing,” Holtzman said. “I really liked his jeans.”