Kendrick Lamar performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)AP
At least by halftime of Super Bowl LIX, Kendrick Lamar’s performance was the most interesting part of the game — and it seemingly carried a message for President Trump, who is dismantling DEI throughout the government.
With the Philadelphia Eagles leading the Kansas City Chiefs 24-0, Lamar rapped a number of his top hits as actor Samuel L. Jackson played “Uncle Sam” the moderator. The all-Black backup dancers performed on stages that were in the shapes of buttons of a video game controller, while often becoming the stripes of the American flag on the Caesars Superdome field.
While Lamar’s performance was anticipated for his musical and lyrical genius, many also wondered what he’d say (or do) in reference to Trump, who became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. Lamar has not been shy about his disdain for Trump, taking shots at him in his lyrics and in an interview.
It didn’t seem like there were any direct shots taken, though his performance on a whole did the trick. It came during a Super Bowl in which the “End Racism” message that has been fashioned to Super Bowl end zones since 2021, according to The Athletic on Tuesday, was removed. Instead, it included “Choose Love.”
Here was the reaction on X:
♦ HALF TIME SHOW
Kendrick Lamar is a Democrat. His producers are Democrats. Everyone who works for him is a Democrat. Not one performer on stage was white. They obviously didn’t get the Trump memo that DEI is dead
♦ Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam at Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime site. Can’t wait for Trump to say it’s “DEI”.
♦ The irony of Kendrick Lamar performing and making statements about the state of America in front of President Trump is priceless. #SuperBowl #halftimeshow
♦ samuel l jackson as uncle sam, the personification of america, telling kendrick his performance is “too ghetto” and then it cutting to kendrick’s all-black backup dancers arranged as the american flag all while That Man is in attendance? kendrick i was not familiar with your game
♦ Raise your hand if you survived the black nationalist Super Bowl LIX halftime show
♦ That would have been great… I don’t get why people like Kendrick Lamar…. I can’t figure out anything he said… creed would have been a great choice since they are back together now… maybe we can get Trump to sign an executive order for next year
♦ I love how Kendrick is unapologetically Black
Here’s what Lamar, a 22-time Grammy winner, has said about Trump in the past:
Song lyrics: “The Heart Part 4” (2017), the year of Trump’s first presidency
Donald Trump is a chump, know how we feel, punk
Tell ‘em that God comin’
And Russia need a replay button, y’all up to somethin’
Electorial votes look like memorial votes
But America’s truth ain’t ignorin’ the votes
It’s blasphemy, how many gon’ blast for me?
Song lyrics: “XXX.” from the album DAMN. (2017)
Donald Trump’s in office, we lost Barack (Obama)
And promised to never doubt him again
But is America honest or do we bask in sin?
In a 2017 interview with Touré for I-D
Via Fuse TV: When asked how he thinks Trump got into office, he comments “We all are baffled. “It is something that completely disregards our moral compass.”
Via Billboard: ”The key differences [between Obama and Trump] are morals, dignity, principles, common sense,” said Lamar, who calls the difference in his reception by the White House “a complete mindfuck.” Still, he admits Trump has inspired him to work more furiously than ever: “It’s just building up the fire in me. It builds the fire for me to keep pushing as hard as I want to push.”
