There’s something happening in culture right now—something deeper than just rap beefs or sports rivalries. It’s about truth. It’s about power. And it’s about who gets to define the narrative.
I saw a clip of Drake at a recent concert, his posture and behavior toward a female security guard crossing the line into what I would call harassment. And in that moment, I couldn’t help but think: this is exactly what Kendrick was talking about. This is the very culture that’s been called out time and time again—the entitlement, the unchecked power, the casual way misogyny and status warp our sense of what’s acceptable.
When Kendrick called the industry out in his recent run-up to the Super Bowl, it wasn’t just about music. It was about a way of being. A way of moving through life that is tethered to truth no matter the cost. Truth as something bigger than image. Truth as something bigger than capitalism. Truth as something bigger than the empire’s game.
That’s why this Super Bowl halftime show matters.
Truth vs. The Empire
There are a few artists who manage to navigate the highest levels of power while still staying rooted in something real, something that doesn’t bend to the demands of empire. Kendrick Lamar is one of them. And when you contrast him with what we often see glorified in hip-hop and pop culture—capitalism without ethics, power without accountability, influence without responsibility—the difference is stark.
Jay-Z, in his own way, has played a role in shaping what we see on that stage, making decisions that impact not just artists but how Blackness is represented in these high-profile spaces. There was some uproar about Lil Wayne being excluded, but if we’re talking about what should be platformed at this moment in history, if we’re talking about the weight of representation—Kendrick is exactly who we need front and center.
This isn’t about taking away from anyone’s ability to cope with the realities of being Black in America. We all navigate the weight of history in our own ways. But representation is power, and what gets uplifted at a moment like this matters.
Kansas City vs. Philadelphia: For Me It's A Clash of Ideologies
Even the setting of this game speaks volumes. Kansas City—a place where white Jesus and toxic Christianity shaped my early understanding of faith, where empire’s version of truth was force-fed in ways that nearly broke me—is facing Philadelphia, the city where my grandfather is from, a place tethered to my own family’s history.
To me, this isn’t just football. It’s a clash of ideologies.
Kansas City represents the version of America that gaslights, that rewrites history, that tries to own and distort truth to serve its own ends. Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation, is no innocent actor, but in this moment, it represents something older, something tied to lineage and the stories that came before.
And in the middle of it all stands Kendrick.
What Kendrick Represents
Kendrick’s presence on that stage isn’t just about music. It’s about platforming something with substance. Something robust. Something that tells the truth about history rather than distorting it.
Kendrick represents a different kind of power—a power that doesn’t bow to capitalism, to patriarchy, to the status quo. His artistry is radical. It’s ethical. It’s spiritual. And it’s tethered to tradition in a way that refuses to be co-opted.
That’s what we should be paying attention to when he takes the stage at halftime.
Because in a world where truth is constantly manipulated, watered down, or erased, watching someone stand in it fully, unapologetically, on one of the biggest stages in the world?
That’s something worth witnessing.