Kendrick Lamar‘s Super Bowl Halftime Show was revolutionary according to Samuel L. Jackson, who also starred in it.
The iconic actor appeared on Paloma Faith’s Mad Sad Bad podcast and discussed the record breaking performance.
Jackson 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.
Dave Free, Lamar’s longtime creative partner, previously explained to the Wall Street Journal, the artistic intention behind the performance.
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“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 Beyoncé, Prince 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.
The former TDE executive also addressed Dot’s setlist, which mainly featured Drake diss tracks and songs from his latest album, GNX: “It wasn’t about playing the hits.”
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Free additionally confirmed that it all began with a call from JAY-Z, who has helped organize the halftime show since 2020. He said he wasn’t sure if Kendrick would be asked to perform at the game having made an appearance during Dr. Dre‘s all-star set just three years ago, but “it felt like the right time for us.”
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.”
