How Kendrick Lamar can attain Super Bowl halftime show immortality – Andscape

Andscape
As Lamar prepares for his historic performance, here are some do’s and don’ts for an amazing showWhen Kendrick Lamar steps onstage at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome for his much-anticipated performance at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, the Compton, California rap giant will again be making history as the halftime headliner of a historic matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.In 2018, Lamar became the first hip-hop artist to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his 2017 album DAMN and, most recently, the first MC to take home five Grammys more than once. This coming Super Bowl Sunday, he again will be ahead of the pack as the first rapper to headline America’s most watched sports and music spectacle solo.The whirlwind of buzzy speculation surrounding Lamar — who will appear along with special guest, multi-platinum R&B starlet and his former Top Dawg Entertainment label mate SZA — has been deafening. Will the GNX spitter unleash his Drake knockout blow “Not Like Us” before an estimated 150 million viewers across the globe? All signs are pointing to yes. There has been debate over whether the seismic-shifting anthem will be played on Sunday, especially after Drake filed a federal defamation lawsuit against his label, Universal Music Group, for “promoting” the record. Some also wondered if it would be too profane for the family-friendly event. But after witnessing Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and seemingly the entire music industry sing the DJ Mustard-produced hit’s infamous “A Minor” line in unison as Lamar accepted Grammys for Record and Song of the Year, the first for a diss track, it’s a sure bet that “Not Like Us” will be part of the halftime show.Of course, Lamar is no stranger to the NFL’s signature showcase. In 2022, he joined Super Bowl LVI halftime show headliners Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg for a star-studded performance that included Eminem, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak. But this time around Lamar faces the daunting task of carrying arguably the music biz’s most coveted live slot alone.Can Kendrick Lamar ascend to Super Bowl immortality? Andscape breaks down his path to joining elite performers like Michael Jackson, U2, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Prince and Usher.Be like MikeSteve Granitz/WireImageLamar is one of music’s most bankable live acts. His last global outing, 2022’s “The Big Steppers Tour,” was one of the highest-grossing treks in hip-hop history, pulling nearly $111 million. During the outing, which included a minimalist, yet theatrical stage show, a line of synchronized dancers moved with Kung Fu Kenny’s every two-step, head nod and turn. The stage resembled a therapist’s office and even included a rapping ventriloquist dummy. The tour, which spanned over 100 cities across the world, saw Lamar rapping in an elevated cube as Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren narrated the entire trippy, emotional journey.Yet while those acclaimed shows were stripped-down stage affairs, the Super Bowl requires a more bombastic, over-the-top approach. If Lamar has intentions on capturing the world’s attention out of the gate, he would do well to take a page from Michael Jackson’s shock-and-awe book. Before the King of Pop was asked to headline Super Bowl XXVII’s halftime show, the spot had been historically a glorified bathroom break featuring college marching bands, local talent and the perpetually cheesy ensemble Up with People.Jackson created the blueprint for the megastar halftime spectacular. He seemingly teleported from one stadium jumbotron to another, magically appeared onstage, and stood still amid screaming fans for nearly two minutes before launching into a blistering set that included “Jam” and “Billie Jean” as someone resembling Jackson launched off in the sky in a jet pack. Kendrick, take notes.Don’t become a prop in your own performanceChristopher Polk/Getty ImagesOver the decades there have been a few halftime show debacles. A baffling 40th anniversary celebration of the Peanuts comic strip at Super Bowl XXIV in 1990. The tepid 1997 Blues Brothers revival without the late, original Blues Brother John Belushi. And Maroon 5’s listless 2019 showing that couldn’t even be saved by the desperate inclusion of Travis Scott and OutKast’s Big Boi. But Lamar only needs to look back at the disastrous 2011 halftime show featuring the Black Eyed Peas to avoid being an afterthought in his own Super Bowl triumph.The group was enveloped by light-up robot suits and seemed lost amid a horde of futuristic dancers. At times, the pitchy Fergie and crew came off like they were the guest stars as the crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was more pumped to see Usher do his thing and Guns N’ Roses ace Slash shred his guitar to his band’s ’80s classic “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”Give the hometown some loveParas Griffin/Getty Images for BETNow that it has been established that New Orleans’ native son Lil Wayne will not be taking part in this Sunday’s halftime show (Tha Carter III rapper wished Lamar “all the best” after initially claiming he was snubbed by halftime show producers Jay-Z’s Roc Nation), Lamar, however, can still pay respects to the Big Easy. Imagine Master P, Mia X and a reunion of the No Limit Soldiers joining Kdot for a nostalgic throwdown of “Make ’em Say Ugh.”Or how about Wayne’s former Cash Money brothers Juvenile and Mannie Fresh launching into the timeless move-something anthem “Back That Azz Up” (“Back That Thang Up” for you censor hawks). Just as Carol Channing and Ella Fitzgerald did when they anchored a 1970 tribute to New Orleans’ godfather of jazz, Louis Armstrong, at Super Bowl IX, Lamaar would really get into the good graces of NOLA tapping hometown favorites like jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Trombone Shorty and blues vocalist Shemekia Copeland. A tribute to the victims of the Jan. 1 New Orleans truck-ramming attack also would present a heartfelt touch.Make it rainJamie Squire/Getty ImagesWidely considered the greatest Super Bowl halftime show performance of all time is Prince’s landmark 2007 Miami outing, complete with his own signature love sign stage. What particularly separates His Royal Badness from the pack is the sheer onslaught of it all. Prince not only rocked the masses with a flurry of his own hits (“Let’s Go Crazy,” the intro to “1999,” and “Baby I’m A Star”), he also busted out some daring covers (Ike and Tina’s “Rolling on the River,” Jimi Hendrix’s glorious take on Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower” and the Foo Fighters’ “Best of You”). He even sang and played a blistering guitar solo on “Purple Rain” as the heavens actually opened up and, well, rained.Before Prince’s 2016 death, Lamar jammed with the Purple One at his storied Paisley Park recording complex, and he gave his hero a shout-out on the Future/Metro Boomin smackdown “Like That.” So it would not be farfetched to envision Kdot being backed by an HBCU marching band just like his Minneapolis hero did with Florida A&M University’s mighty Marching 100 at Super Bowl XLI. (Southern University’s band will be performing during this year’s pregame show.) Moreover, Lamar delivering a setlist of “Alright,” “Not Like Us,” “HUMBLE.,” “TV Off,” and a gorgeous duet of “All the Stars” and “Luther” with SZA would indeed be majestic. Make it happen, Kendrick.Keith “Murph” Murphy is a senior editor at VIBE Magazine and frequent contributor at Billboard, AOL, and CBS Local. The veteran journalist has appeared on CNN, FOX News and A&E Biography and is also the author of the men’s lifestyle book “Manifest XO.”
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Source: https://andscape.com/features/how-kendrick-lamar-can-attain-super-bowl-halftime-show-immortality/