Kendrick Lamar Receives Emmy Nomination For Super Bowl Performance

    Kendrick Lamar has received four Emmy Award nominations for his record breaking Super Bowl halftime show performance back in February.

    The iconic performance, which featured cameos from Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams and Mustard, is nominated for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Music Direction, and Outstanding Choreography (Variety/Reality).

    Kendrick previously won an Emmy for his role in the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show in which he performed alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige.

    Lamar is yet to comment on the nominations.

    Samuel L. Jackson previously claimed that the performance was “revolutionary”.

    The iconic actor appeared on Paloma Faith’s Mad Sad Bad podcast and said: “I didn’t know what they were doing. It was kinda trippy because it wasn’t until dress rehearsal that when I looked up and I looked on that stage and I go, ‘Oh shit, that’s a flag. Ah, fuck, we’re being revolutionaries.’ Because I wasn’t listening or paying attention.”

    Jackson appeared throughout the performance, playing a version of Uncle Sam, essentially narrating Kendrick’s show.

    As well as social commentary, Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance made headlines for featuring a number of jabs aimed at Drake.

    During the actual performance of “Not Like Us”, Kendrick self-censored the “certified pedophile” line but smirked to the camera as he rapped: “Say Drake, I hear you like ’em young / You better not ever go to cell block one / To any [bitch] that talk to him and they in love / Just make sure you hide your lil’ sister from him.”

    Dave Free, Lamar’s longtime creative partner, previously explained to the Wall Street Journalthe artistic intention behind the performance.

    “We wanted this performance to have a cinematic and theatrical element to it. We can confidently say that there’s no Super Bowl performance that’s quite like this one,” he said.

    Free added that he and Kendrick prepared for the event by watching every single Super Bowl halftime performance, drawing particular inspiration from BeyoncéPrince and Michael Jackson’s shows.

    “The feel of it is Black America. What does Black America look like, and how to control that narrative of what it means to be Black in America versus what the world’s perspective of that is,” he said.

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