By: Chloe Kowalyk

(Above: Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show Poster. Graphic via Fox Sports.)

Although many Buffalonians, Western New Yorkers and Americans in general are dissatisfied with the results of the AFC and NFC Championship games, there is still one aspect of Super Bowl LIX left to root for: The Super Bowl Halftime Show.

This mid-game musical performance is one of the most highly anticipated performances of the year, shining a bright spotlight on a well-known musical artist for a short, yet impactful amount of time.

With over 120 million viewers annually, the Super Bowl is a spectacle for not just sports, but also music, as it places hundreds of millions of eyes – and ears – on an artist’s music for a night, often capturing audiences that a musician may not reach otherwise.

Each year, there exist your typical haters, ranting about how the chosen artist is either “too inappropriate,” or self-created music snobs who snort that they don’t know who this artist is anyways and complain that the Super Bowl never has a “good” halftime performer.

It’s impossible to please everyone, yet this year’s pick is interesting, diverse and representative of a large group of Americans.

This year, Kendrick Lamar has been selected as the headline performer for Super Bowl LIX, joined by guest performer SZA. 

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Who is Kendrick Lamar?

Kendrick, (whose full name is actually Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, but we will stick with his stage name for the purposes of this article), is from Compton, Calif., which shaped a lot of his songwriting and direction for music. 

Born in 1987 and growing up in the ’90s, Kendrick has early memories of the Los Angeles Riots of 1992. He grew up in a high crime area, and witnessed his first murder at age five.

In an interview with The Dowsers Magazine, Kendrick recalled some memories from the time, and said, “I remember riding with my pops down Bullis Road, and looking out the window and seeing motherf****** just running. I can see smoke. We stop, and my pops goes into the Auto-Zone and comes out rolling four tires. I know he didn’t buy them. I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’”

This story, as The Dowsers connects, is referenced in the “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” bonus track, “County Building Blues,” where Kendrick writes: “Couple stolen TVs and a seat belt for my safety/ Played the passenger I think it’s five years after ’87/ Do the math, ‘92, don’t you be lazy.”

Growing up in Compton, Kendrick was exposed to hip hop culture and even witnessed Dr. Dre and Tupac filming their video for the remix of “California Love” in 1996. 

Today, Kendrick has found his own success in hip hop, and has released five studio albums (not including deluxe and collector editions). Kendrick also created and produced “Black Panther: The Album,” soundtrack to the critically acclaimed Marvel film “Black Panther.” 

He has also been a featured artist with other big names such as Ty Dolla Sign, Kanye West and Jay Rock. Notably, Kendrick has also collaborated with female artist SZA frequently.

The duo have blended their musical styles in many songs, such as “All the Stars,” a prominent track on the “Black Panther: The Album” and one many would recognize as it was widely used on TikTok and other social media platforms as a trending sound.

Adding to Kendrick and SZA’s work together, SZA is joining him as a guest performer in the Super Bowl Halftime show. SZA recently released her highly anticipated album “Lana,” which features Kendrick in a guest appearance.

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How the Super Bowl Halftime Show performer is selected, and what Kendrick Lamar means to America

There been quite a bit of buzz around the fact that Kendrick Lamar was selected as the halftime performer.

According to The Hilltop, Howard University’s student newspaper and the nation’s first Black collegiate newspaper, Kendrick is making history as the first solo hip hop artist to headline a Super Bowl Halftime Show.  

In previous years, the Super Bowl has seen hip hop artists hit the stage. For instance, in 2022, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Anderson performed in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. Notably, Kendrick Lamar also joined the artists, making this year his second Super Bowl appearance.

Many fans have also observed that the past six Super Bowl Halftime shows have included artists of color.

One student from Howard University, Kasey Napper, believes that this trend reflects the current world of music.

“We [people of color] are what people are listening to,” she said. “People are watching the football game, but a lot of people tune in for the performance.”

Many fans were upset that the Super Bowl Halftime performer was not someone from New Orleans, the city in which Super Bowl LIX is taking place.

Several fans were quick to point out that Lil Wayne, a hip hop artist born and raised in New Orleans, would have been a great pick for the show. Lil Wayne himself was disappointed with the news.

 But how is the Super Bowl Halftime Performer chosen anyways?

There is a common misconception that the Super Bowl Halftime Show performer is selected by the NFL. However, the chosen artist is selected through a three-step process:

First, a panel that includes the NFL’s entertainment director, the halftime show’s producer and Roc Nation’s Jay-Z meets to create a potential list of performers for the show.

Then the city that is hosting the Super Bowl reviews this list, evaluating based upon cultural relevance to the city and the country, as well as audience interest.

Finally, the host city makes the final decision on who the performer will be.

Melvin Villaver, a professor of performing arts at Clemson University, did an interview with NPR about the selection process, and made an inference on Kendrick’s connection with New Orleans. Villaver said, “If you listen to Kendrick’s music and his body of work, he’s very – he’s fused jazz into his repertoire. And New Orleans is considered the birthplace of jazz.”

Kendrick and Buffalo

Your TV screen may be about as close to Buffalo as Kendrick is going to get this year, although he’ll be doing two tour dates at the Rogers Center in Toronto on June 12 and 13.

While he has performed in Toronto on a regular basis, according to the Concert Archives data base, he hasn’t appeared in Western New York since June 3, 2018, when he appeared at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on the TDE Tour with ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, SZA, Jay Rock, Lance Skiiiwalker and SiR.

Before that, he played at Alumni Arena at the University at Buffalo on April 14, 2013, on a bill with Steve Aoki, Krewella, Bad Rabbits and 5 & A Dime.