The rapper insists he’s a musician, not a messiah—a message reinforced by his Super Bowl performance.
“The revolution’s about to be televised,” Lamar announced early on. But, he added, “You picked the right time but the wrong guy.”
FEBRUARY 10, 2025 (TheAtlantic.com)
The Super Bowl halftime show is an opportunity for big, dumb fun: explosions, laser shows, left sharks. But big, dumb fun isn’t Kendrick Lamar’s thing. The 37-year-old Los Angeles rapper and Pulitzer Prize winner prefers subtlety, smarts, and fun that’s tinged by danger and unease. Amid tough, tense circumstances, he put on a tough, tense—and quite satisfying—show.
The event framed itself in self conscious terms. “This is the great American game,” Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, announced at the start. He probably wasn’t just referring to football. Lamar himself was about to run a familiar artistic gauntlet: the struggle to keep one’s integrity intact while entertaining the masses. The stage was set up in a tic-tac-toe design, and Jackson popped up at various other times to score the proceedings. Lamar rapped with intense focus, nailing every bit of elegantly herky-jerky choreography. But his face also conveyed anxiety, even fear. We knew that he knew he was being watched.
One of the people watching was Donald Trump, in attendance in New Orleans as a brief break from upending the federal government. Lamar is widely seen as the social conscience of his generation of rappers, and he knew he was expected to make a statement of some sort. “The revolution’s about to be televised,” Lamar announced early on. But, he added, “You picked the right time but the wrong guy.” One possible meaning: I’m not your revolutionary. It’s the same message he’s repeatedly conveyed on his albums over the years, replying to onlookers who want him to be more of a messiah than a musician.
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Spencer Kornhaber is a staff writer at The Atlantic.
