Diss(cuss)ing Kendrick Lamar

The Super Bowl Edition

This edition of Second Drafts is thin. I thought about putting together a complete Super Bowl edition, but what a Super Bowl it wasn’t, eh? So, below are a few thoughts on the halftime show, along with a link to only the biggest conspiracy theory ever involving football (you will be shocked—shocked!—I tell you).

The main reason for this less-than-normal newsletter is that my 82-year-old father, Roger, passed away yesterday. After a very fast physical decline over the past months (and especially the past weeks) due to a stage four cancer (source of and type we're still not sure) attacking his liver and kidneys, we moved Dad to hospice on Wednesday to make his remaining time as comfortable as possible.

At 5 p.m. Thursday night, Dad’s spirit ascended to glory to our singing of “Amazing Grace,” followed by prayer and the “Gloria Patri.” Dad experienced no pain from the cancer and, though non-verbal and disoriented the last few days (from what we're also not really sure), he died a good death with dignity and humility in the Lord. I’ll write more about him soon. May his memory be eternal.

The family gathered Wednesday night in-person and via FaceTime to say goodbye.

Thanks for understanding. And thanks, as always, for reading Second Drafts.

Craig

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Diss(cuss)ing Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar performs for the Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. (Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images)

Super Bowl halftime shows are usually good for at least a week’s worth of post-performance discussion, and plenty of folks have had plenty to say about rapper Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show this past Sunday. While some critiqued the racial aspects of the show, others praised the multiple layers of symbolism intended, writing off those critical of Lamar by saying, “If you didn’t get it or didn’t like it, it wasn’t for you.”

That’s an interesting (and very modern) way to talk about art—especially “great art,” which so many of Lamar’s supporters called it. Weaponizing the tired “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” trope, defenders of Lamar dismissed any beholder (especially those over 35) whose eye didn’t behold the same beauty (or more accurately, nostalgia?) they did. Instead, they piled on derogatory “Boomer” cries and pointed to Lamar winning 22 Grammys as proof of his greatness.¹

But “great art” (at least in the classical sense) is for everyone, not just aimed at a certain target audience or demographic. Regardless of age or background, the person who walks into Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel or views his David can’t help but marvel at what she sees; the same is true when considering works of Da Vinci or Rembrandt or Caravaggio. “Greatness” (a word that gets thrown around too much) is unmistakable when it catches our collective breath and inspires awe.

Granted, comparing truly great works of art to Super Bowl shows may seem unfair. So, comparing apples to apples, would it be safe to say the reception and impact of Lamar’s show pales in comparison to, say, the global cultural moment of U2’s 2002 music offering honoring those who died on 9/11? Or of Prince’s incredible 2007 “Purple Rain” performance, which fans and critics alike deem the greatest ever? I would even argue 2022’s halftime show featuring Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem (Lamar was also a part), played better in terms of set, sound, and aesthetic highlighting 25 years of West Coast rap.

All this makes Lamar’s personal but public feud with Drake petty by comparison.

Was it art? Sure it was. Was it great art? I wouldn’t say so, but some would, so we’ll agree to disagree. Just consider that the more you try to explain or convince others that something is “great art” might make the point that it actually isn’t.

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1. The Grammy/greatness argumentation holds less and less water every year; cf. Beyonce.