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Watch the Apple Music Halftime Show With Kendrick Lamar — Full Video
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The YouTube video of the half-time show was put up 12 hours ago and already has 12 million views. Get out of your bubble.
I'm not sure how some would take this article, but it does more or less encapsulate what some of us expected to happen. Still wish he would have dropped a line from Meet the Grahams.https://slate.com/culture/2025/02/kendrick-lamar-halftime-super-bowl-halftime-drake-2025.html said:
Was the US flag being built on the literal backs of Black people on stage too subtle for you? Samuel L. Jackson introducing my himself as “your favorite uncle” too deep of a reference?
The performance in and of itself wasn't the best ever, sure.
Still, I'll never understand people who go out of their way to post, "I don't like this!" about art but can't flesh their point out in any way. As a result, the criticism is not coming from an informed place, and is neither thoughtful nor constructive. They just hit things with a broadside shallow insult like "garbage" and "not real music!" (psst: almost always because they're unfamiliar with the art/genre/medium and it isn't what they're used to...and they probably don't like the feeling that the culture passing them by).
I love the Beatles to Beyonce, Kansas to Kool and the Gang, Killswitch Engage to The Kinks, Metallica to Mozart, The Dead Kennedys to Dean Martin, Kacey Musgraves to Kendrick. It's all real music, and only people who have zero musical education at all have the nerve to broadly claim otherwise.
Anyway, in the least surprising thing ever, a bunch of crotchety, more-likely-to-be-stuck-in-their-ways-than-most, old tech heads don't like one of the greatest hip-hop artists ever (why they need to go beyond a commentary on the performance and criticize the genre as a whole and tell everyone else is anyone's guess 🙄). News at 11!
Still, I'll never understand people who go out of their way to post, "I don't like this!" about art but can't flesh their point out in any way. As a result, the criticism is not coming from an informed place, and is neither thoughtful nor constructive. They just hit things with a broadside shallow insult like "garbage" and "not real music!" (psst: almost always because they're unfamiliar with the art/genre/medium and it isn't what they're used to...and they probably don't like the feeling that the culture passing them by).
I love the Beatles to Beyonce, Kansas to Kool and the Gang, Killswitch Engage to The Kinks, Metallica to Mozart, The Dead Kennedys to Dean Martin, Kacey Musgraves to Kendrick. It's all real music, and only people who have zero musical education at all have the nerve to broadly claim otherwise.
Anyway, in the least surprising thing ever, a bunch of crotchety, more-likely-to-be-stuck-in-their-ways-than-most, old tech heads don't like one of the greatest hip-hop artists ever (why they need to go beyond a commentary on the performance and criticize the genre as a whole and tell everyone else is anyone's guess 🙄). News at 11!
Anyways, if anyone is interested in a good analysis of the half-time show (if you even watched the show– something tells me most of the people bashing it here didn’t even bother despite their claims), here’s my recommendation:
andscape.com
The subversive genius of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance
The Compton MC might have just given us the biggest rap performance ever
andscape.com
Not very good halftime … can’t we think of anyone better like Beyonce maybe … This is too niche market
The idea that Kendrick Lamar isn't a "major star" is downright laughable.
Dude has 22 Grammys, and he just won 5 of those this year.
His latest album has 1,587,970,343 streams on Spotify.
You and many others may not like him, but anyone who doesn't think he's a star might've been in a coma for the last 15 years, even if that coma was only cultural and figurative.
Holy old fudd energy here. I thought Kendrick's performace was terrific!
Couldn't have nailed it any better.
Fortunately, culture moves on, and those who have voluntarily entered a cultural cryogenic state eventually get left behind.
Edit: grammatical error fixed.
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I think we don’t need further analysis. The fact is that here (as in X and FB) a lot of people expressed its dislike for last night’s show. That’s the point and fact, period.Anyways, if anyone is interested in a good analysis of the half-time show (if you even watched the show– something tells me most of the people bashing it here didn’t even bother despite their claims), here’s my recommendation:
The subversive genius of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance
The Compton MC might have just given us the biggest rap performance ever
I respect that you liked, but most people don’t.
Surprised but also not surprised at the lack of Kendrick fans in here. I had a great time watching.
If your samples come from X and Facebook, you’re going to find that those demographics tend to feel a very… particular way about a Black man holding up a mirror.
No you don’t. You react to every message stating appreciation for the show with a laughing emoji, so do us all a favor and drop the respectability act.
My guy...is that Taylor Hawkins from Foo Fighters in your pfp?
Kendrick Lamar is the #21st most streamed artist on Spotify.
The Foo Fighters are #210 (source), and that is with a career that is literally twice as long, and with 11 albums (to Kendrick's six). Much more content, WAYYYYY less cultural attention.
Who is "very niche", again?
The assertion that "most people don't (like the show)" in the original post points directly to those timeline algorithms doing their echo chamber thing.
👏🏼
And surely X and FB would never just act as an echo chamber for you to drive engagement and clicks.
It's not a bad idea to step outside social media and at least recognize that what you see there is not truly representative of the rest of the world.
Only people detached from reality, in their own bubbles, and not interested in the truth whatsoever would be presented with literal statistics that prove their silly assertions—like "this music doesn't actually appeal to people" (except the billions who listen to it, apparently)—flatly wrong...would only react with a laughing emoji. Talk about denial.
That cognitive dissonance must be painful! 🤣
Amazing that Weird Al is popping up as a possible Super Bowl halftime entertainer. With complete seriousness I cannot think of anyone else who could be 1) good, 2) hit every genre possible, 3) relevant, and 4) unifying.
The possibilities for guest spots during his set boggle the mind. The biggest stars in music would be fighting each other for a spot in the show.
In all seriousness, is rock even relevant? Was there even one rock band who played the Grammys?
Who would play to satisfy the rock crowd? Look at this list of 25 most popular rock bands in 2024. They’re ancient.
Tame Impala is rad but are they “rock?”
It’s a serious question. Rock seems to be niche now, tbh.
Who would play to satisfy the rock crowd? Look at this list of 25 most popular rock bands in 2024. They’re ancient.
Tame Impala is rad but are they “rock?”
It’s a serious question. Rock seems to be niche now, tbh.
Doubtful. The Beatles were viewed that way for maybe 10 years after their debut. There is 30+ year old hip hop that is still viewed the way debut Beatles were and those hip hop artists have far more star power than Lamar or other hip hop artists of today. The problem isn't the genre, it is the artists and songs the industry and fans choose to promote. Good hip hop doesn't get exposure and trash is rises to the top.