Too loud, too reckless, too GHETTO

Ben Hurney / THE GATEPOST

By Izayah Morgan Opinions Editor Super Bowl LIX ended with a decisive victory for the Philadelphia Eagles over the Kansas City Chiefs. And yes, while most of us can rest easy knowing the terror of a potential Mahomes three-peat is over, I want to analyze the brilliant halftime show Kendrick Lamar performed. The show opened with Samuel L. Jackson speaking as the American symbol Uncle Sam. A symbolic choice, as the character of Uncle Sam has been used as a propaganda piece for America and can be a representation of America's dark past to some - especially to Black folks. Segregation, false promises to the veterans, Jim Crow, redlining, not to mention the ongoing racial discrimination that is inside the workplace, housing, medicine, and larger society. It persists in almost every aspect of our American society and Uncle Sam represents it. Having Jackson play him was multilayered, with the obvious connection of Uncle Sam and Samuel, the tie of Jackson having a background in activism, and the quite under-talked about connection of Jackson playing Stephen in “Django Unchained” - a character whose primary motive was to serve as the “boot licking” house slave who actively worked against his fellow “field negroes.” Kendrick started his performance with the unreleased song “Bodies” and ended the song by saying, “The revolution ’bout to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy.” Kendrick casting himself as “the wrong guy” displays the contrast in Kendrick’s perceived character by the larger society as the gold standard of how Black people should act - not too loud, reckless, or ghetto - against Kendrick’s true character - a figure who has said by his own words “capitalist posin’ as compassionate be offending me.” A Black man with revolutionary thoughts who is now hosting the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the most watched piece of media in America. You, America, picked the right time to have a party, but the wrong man to host it. He then transitioned to the song “Squabble Up,” which went on for about a minute. Uncle Sam then interjected, saying, “No, no, no - too loud, too reckless, too ghetto!” He questioned if Kendrick “knew how to play the game.” A question Black Americans ponder - they ask themselves, “Are we fitting into what the dominant society wants?” Guess we gotta tighten up. Kendrick transitioned to “Humble,” which is his most popular song and considered to be more palatable to white Americans. All the backup dancers, dressed in either red, white, or blue, stood together to form the American flag. Kendrick sang the lines “Sit down, be humble” - a line many Black Americans have heard when trying to have their voices heard by society. The choice to have majority Black dancers wasn't just some random coincidence. Many companies try to pass themselves off as being diverse, but often will limit it to just a few POC. Kendrick, in my opinion, chose to contradict this familiar trope by having majority Black backup dancers in a known-to-be-racist industry for POC to get into. Every backup dancer then ran out of the way as Kendrick performed “DNA.,” the song that displays the contrast of America treating Black Americans as violent creatures by our very DNA. That's how our enslavement was justified for so many years. Even after slavery ended, a young Black boy could be perceived as an active threat just for “whistling at a white woman.” So much so that they track and hunt this boy, kill him, and dump him in the river. He then transitioned to “Euphoria,” my favorite song in the diss tracks between Kendrick and Drake last summer. A great tease of what was to come in the show. The song sends warning shots to Drake, which, well, let's be frank, he didn't listen to. Kendrick then performed “man at the garden,” a song about a man talking about his accomplishments - who “deserves it all.” I interpret this on two levels - figuratively this garden represents the Garden of Eden from the Bible and literally this garden represents the Madison Square Garden Kendrick performed in at the top of his career. As he gives his all to his community but at the same time is a celebrity, he questions the challenges that come with the two identities. He deserves it all. Uncle Sam appeared again, commenting how Kendrick had Black men standing behind him during “man at the garden,” saying that it was a culture cheat code. “Scorekeepers deduct 1 point,” Uncle Sam said. “peekaboo,” my favorite song off “GNX” had me feeling the urge to crip walk but it was a bit too small where I was at. Kendrick then stated he wanted to play everyone's favorite song but “you know they love to sue.” Kendrick debated performing “Not Like Us,” instead deciding to “slow it down” and then asked the beautiful women around to “do me this solid.” “Oh, you lost your damn mind,” Uncle Sam said. Well, it might have been all the Black joy Uncle Sam saw on stage. Or maybe it’s the fact the next song performed was “Luther,” which features SZA, who Kendrick brought out. The song is about empowering your partner, as if the world was Kendrick’s, then he would take his partner’s dreams and make them multiply. It was a beautiful duet. It was then followed up poetically by the duet song “All the Stars,” which appeared in the “Black Panther” film in 2018. Kendrick’s verses are about the politics that come with being famous and dealing with the dilution of people you once trusted. SZA’s chorus is a deep contrast to Kendrick's verse - it represents faith and aspiring for more in life. As my mother told me, reach for the stars, as no dream is too big for Black people. Uncle Sam interjects again, saying, “Yeah that's what I'm talking about. That's what America wants - nice and calm. You're almost there, don’t mess this up.” The “Not Like Us” beat plays in the background as Sam speaks - directly undermining Sam’s words. Uncle Sam wants Kendrick’s music to be “nice and calm,” easily digestible, and not too “much or too loud” - but Black art isn't limited by others' skewed beliefs. Kendrick snapped back at America. He proceeded to interrupt Uncle Sam, saying, “It’s a cultural divide. Imma get it on the floor. Forty acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music. Yeah, they tried to rig the game, but they can’t fake influence.” “Forty acres and a mule” were the promises made to African Americans to give the community resources after the Civil War. It is also the name of Spike Lee's production company. Lee is a prominent Black director of movies that have empowered the Black community and give historical information on the tragedies that befell us. “They tried to rig the game, but they can’t fake influence” is another shot at the crown that Drake seems to have had for a while. It wasn’t just a rap battle, but a battle for the culture as well. Guess the culture didn't feel Drake. Huh, it must have been the braids. Kendrick proceeded to then do one last victory lap on Drake's head with "Not Like Us.” He pulled out all the stops, getting the whole crowd shouting “A MINOR” at the top of their lungs, everyone dancing, and Serena Williams crip walking to show her support. You may be wondering why Serena was there. It turns out that she and Drake dated for a short period of time. Surprising nobody, they broke up. Drake has been sneaking and dissing her and her husband for years. That went on until Drake finally did a direct diss, insulting Serena’s husband on his album “For All the Dogs.” Also during the Olympics Serena decided to crip walk. She was berated with comments telling her it was unprofessional - too ghetto and too Black. Oh sorry, I said the quiet part out loud. The Halftime Show closed out with one more song - “tv off.” It was the final celebration to bring out culture-favorite producer Mustard to dance. With a final announcement from Kendrick that we need to turn that damn TV off. It’s rotting your brain.