Are we really gonna talk about the Super Bowl? Well…yeah. Kinda. Not so much the football part though.

What are my qualifications to speak on a rap performance? None. I have no qualifications here except as someone with two eyeballs and ear holes who watched the halftime show. Which means as much as I enjoyed it I gleaned exactly 10% of what the artist was putting out there and that just didn’t seem good enough.

I’m going to share just a few links I’ve found helpful. I’m purposefully putting think pieces and conversations about performance nuance up front so if you’re like me and lack almost all of the necessary cultural knowledge to intelligently dive in on this you’ll gain more perspective. I’m including the Irish woman’s video for her insights as a non-American on white people’s reactions to this show.

Fair warning, this is a full conversation on a complex issue. These are not short little bops but there’s a fair amount of overlap in the conversations. Choose the videos that speak best to you.

YouTube won’t let me embed the NFL video so I’ll link the halftime performance at the end of the post. Even if you’ve already seen the show I’d strongly recommend you watch again. Every time I see it something new hits me.

@thequeenpo

This is my understanding of some of the #symbolism and #meaning behind #KendrickLamar #Superbowl #HalftimeShow & There’s soooo much more I could’ve said but TIME Time time… #fyp

♬ original sound – The Queen Po

@keisha.villa

The symbolism shown in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance. #superbowl2025

♬ original sound – Keisha V

@keisha.villa

The symbolism and Kendrick Lamar’s performance, part two . #superbowl2025 @@Keisha V

♬ original sound – Keisha V

@popculturescientist

#kendrick

♬ original sound – Abi | Pop Culture Scientist

Now go watch Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show again. Oh, and happy Black History Month.