litcrazh

[litcrazh]

A Crash Course to Kendrick's Super Bowl Performance, from a Black Woman

Note: this does NOT go in depth into all of the song's lyrics. I don't have time to recount two decades of his discography. This is just a summary of the performance itself.

Let's start with the first visual we get:

UNCLE SAM - most notably recognized from WWII American wartime propaganda, Uncle Sam is the personification of American patriotism and freedom. The term "uncle" is also evocative of Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin, an abolitionist book that aided in inciting the Civil War. Uncle is also a very common term (both endearment and derogatory) towards Black men (eg. "unc"). Samuel L Jackson was fantastic. (Edit: and please look up his history of civil rights activism, he was on the FBI watchlist and even a pallbearer at MLKJr’s funeral.)

Uncle Sam also resembles a circus ringleader, notable for my next point:

THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME - no, not Super Bowl. The GAG is us the people being pitted against each other: through late-stage capitalism, through the culture war, through class warfare, through being built of the backs of slaves. We are all players in the GAG because none of us on this site were the oligarchs seated at the inauguration.

This is also seen as Kendrick's stage was a Play Station controller. Not only did it remind of circus rings visually, but it was a game battle stage. The Great American Game is a battle royale of the commoners for the amusement of the rich whites.

Remember the foods / Them color was tin and brown / But now they 100 and blue - For this I'll just say, look what the last election said about lowering the price of eggs... and look at the prices now.

The revolution about to be televised / You picked the right time / But the wrong guy - Election 2024 once more. *Edit to add, the first part of this lyric is in reference to the Black Liberation Song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron. Thanks to everyone who mentioned that.

THE FLAG DANCERS - yes, the dancers formed the US flag... off of the backs of Black people. Not a single white person in sight, and that's true of the cotton pickers in the fields. Plantations are part of how the US came to economic prominence after being a "backwater" colony. Remember tobacco? Cotton? Our bloodlines do. *Edit to add: they also all piled out of a clown car. The US flag in a clown car? Brilliant.

The red and blue dancers are also notable for representing the Crips and Bloods, two infamous street gangs. The dance in Not Like Us is the Crip Walk. I recommend researching more on your own time about them, but just know they are a large part of the stereotype of Black people being "ghetto."

TOO LOUD, TOO RECKLESS, TOO GHETTO. Do you really know how to play the game? - This is exactly what Black people, especially Black men, get told all the time. It's why we change our names on resumes if they sound "too Black." It's why we codeswitch in non-Black company. This is especially rich considering how non-Black people love our culture and love to make money off of us, as the latter part of the quote points to. And it's even more profound during the Super Bowl-- the NFL is majority Black players.

STREET LIGHT A CAPELLA -- "thug" stereotype dancers to counteract the a capella connotations, with Uncle Sam then saying that Kendrick figured out "bringing other street guys around being a culture cheat code." Yes, this is a direct hit at Drake (listen to "Not Like Us") but also politically. Look up "model minority". Notably I would point to Candace Owens, or the Miami Venezuelan political group that's been in the news recently, especially as this directly led to Kendrick being surrounded by...

DANCERS IN WHITE -- it's white America. That's... that's the allegory.

NOT LIKE US TEASER -- Kendrick says "Not Like Us" is "their favorite song." -> he means white people specifically here. It comes after he's surrounded by all white dancers, the women around him who are his call and response are also in white (my opinion, they represent the industry). He's saying "Not Like Us" is the favorite of yts because it is about BLACK MEN FIGHTING. This again is reflected in the video game stage and ringleader Uncle Sam.

SZA -- instead of giving what they want, we see SZA. She's one of Drake's exes and Kendrick has always supported her.

ALL THE STARS -- This was in the first Black Panther movie, which I recommend you watch. Rest in Power Chadwick. Notably, this movie was incredibly mainstream as a major Marvel movie, and then we have Uncle Sam say...

"THAT'S WHAT AMERICA WANTS: NICE AND CALM. DON'T MESS THIS UP" -- translation: Marvel (the industry, America, etc.) wanted a safe, semi-pop song because white American likes safe pop songs, not Kendrick's usual heavy rap style about his life as a Black man! Don't mess up what you've got going mainstream for having this "Black rap feud" with Drake, who is an R&B model minority to white people because he's safe.

So what does Kendrick say?

IT'S A CULTURAL DIVIDE / IMMA GET IT ON THE FLOOR -- He was warned not to be political or apologetically Black for this Super Bowl performance, but he is using this big stage opportunity to speak out.

40 ACRES AND A MULE / THIS IS BIGGER THAN THE MUSIC -- 40 acres and a mule are what the freed slaves were promised. Instead, this land went to white sharecroppers. Research Jim Crow laws.

THEY TRIED TO RIG THE GAME / BUT YOU CAN'T FAKE INFLUENCE -- rig the election, rig the industry like with model minority Drake, rig the Great American Game with culture war to distract from active class warfare.

NOT LIKE US -- the only thing I'll mention because it made me holler is Serena Williams crip walking on Drake's metaphorical grave. She's another one of his exes (read: Drake harassed the hell out of her). *Edit: she was also fined at the 2012 Olympics for crip walking in celebration at Wimbledon.

TURN THE TV OFF -- exactly like he said! The TV is a distraction, the Super Bowl is a distraction, the mainstream news is often a distraction. Turn it off and get with your people!

GAME OVER — could not see this on my stream but at the end of the performance, the lights in the stadium spelled this out. The world is watching, America…

In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar is a visionary and thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

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the amount of random niche stuff i’ve thrown myself into later should be alarming

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Adrien takes full advantage of his face post-reveal

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what’s wrong? nothing just the fact that sam cortland was there all night

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do you know that one post thats like "spider-man refuses to smoke weed because he's convinced himself that the second he gets high the sinister 666 will descend upon his home and kill him and his family"? i feel like marinette's kinda like that about hawkmoth a little bit

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THIS IS SO THEM

Nesta & Cassian

ACOTAR x 10 things I hate about you

Artist: aiphos.s / @aiphoss

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if im subjected to one more post that is anti-percabeth i'm going to go crazy. like GET OUT OF MY FACEEEEEE

i do not care if you like other percy ships, but saying "she's always insulting him and never complimenting him" ... oh so you have to only ever acknowledge your closest friend, your significant other, your LITERAL OTHER HALF in the best way possible because any other way would be abusive? like i can't lovingly make fun of my partner because why?

GOODNIGHT. and comparing her treatment of percy to the literal abuse he's face from gabe and any other adult that's mistreated him is so wild???

yall are hating on a fictional teenage girl for being A FICTIONAL TEENAGE GIRL? like yall must be sooooo fun at parties.

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coming back just to say the acotar fandom is toxic as fuck and i am SICK of people hating on the characters and their supporters for absolutely zero fucking reason.

the hate cassian is receiving here, on tiktok and instagram? don’t even start me on nesta, and cassian and nesta as a couple.

people calling cassian a dumb brute and nesta a bitch make me sick to my stomach and did not get the freaking books.

enough with the brooding men who need women to « fix them ». or at least, leave us appreciate our funny teddy bear and divine queen in love with one of the most honest and transparent person in the whole saga.

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GOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDD MORRRNNNNNINNNNGGGGGG ACOTAR FANS

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we need more alya appreciation in ur twitter au 💪

IM COOKING

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Although I do understand why so many YA protagonists are anti-having kids because of the dangers of the world they live in or just because they're young and unsure if they want them, I love Percy Jackson. He lives with danger and trauma everyday and yet still from the get-go of his relationship he's like: "Annabeth and I are having sons and daughters--our daughter will have blonde hair like Annabeth but my crazy personality and she'll be a super fierce demigod--and wow New Rome is such a safe place for a family; Annabeth and I can hold hands over a café table and watch our kids chase seagulls across the forum." And he has these thoughts at sixteen.

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Percy immediately putting his sword down when he thinks he hurt Luke. Saying “I’m sorry” because he doesn’t want to hurt him. Even if Luke is the traitor. Only for Luke to take advantage of his kindness and draw blood.

THAT is the difference between Luke and Percy.

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silena beauregard and charles beckendorf next season

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I FUCKING LOVED PJO I DONT CARE MAYBE EVERYONE SHOULD STOP HATING AND START LOVING I THOUGHT IT WAS AWESOME AND HELD THE ESSENCE OF WANT PERCY JACKSON WAS TO MD

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YEAH I CRIED WHAT ABOUT IT SO WHAT

YES IM GOING TO CRY DURING THE FINAL EPISODE SO WHAT SO WHAT SO WHAT IM GOING TO CRY LIKE A LITTLE BABY AND THEN GO ON THIS GOD FORSAKEN APP AND TELL EVERYONE I DID CRY SO WHAT

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”i love luke and so excited to see him this episode” you say as i hush you and softly stroke your hair