Nicole Monterroza @nicole_desoto - Twitter Profile

over 1 year ago

Saw it in a crowded bar like an hour ago so need to rewatch but here are my takeaways on the meanings of the Kendrick Super Bowl performance: 1. (UNITY). Kendrick grew up around a gang called the Bloods. So he has dancers in red. BUT at his Juneteenth performance over the summer, he had the Bloods & the Crips literally unite and celebrate on stage — this almost NEVER happens as the two groups are gangs from California that have historically been sworn enemies. So Ken has dancers dressed in red AND blue to keep that going . 2. (AMERICA). But then there are dancers in white sprinkled in too, so we get this additional play up on the American colors. The dancers in all 3 colors stomp around and don’t do any soft sweet choreography. It’s bold and in your face. They form the American flag on several occasions and most, if not all of the dancers, are in baggy sweats type clothing and look majority black. So here we have these young black folks on the biggest stage in America forming the flag in baggy clothes and in-your-face choreo because we ARE a part of America, we’re here, and we’re rightfully taking up space. 3. (POLITICS). Then the part I loved most was having none other than Samuel L. Jackson play Uncle Sam, pun intended! Aside from Samuel having the same name as the government figure “Uncle Sam” (a fictional character used by the government dating back to the 1800s to encourage people to enlist in the army and represent the US in a way that generates good publicity), not only is SLJ a prominent black figure playing Uncle Sam who is ALWAYS shown as white but — SLJ goes way back with black activism. He went to Morehouse College (historical black men’s university) and even held hostage a group of college staff members in 1969 as a form of protest 😭 Yes, lol he was arrested for that btw. He was also one of the pallbearers carrying the casket at Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral, who has famously been thought to be assassinated with the assistance of the U.S. government. So to have Samuel PLAYING Uncle Sam as a narrator to micromanage Kendrick throughout the performance and tell him what he can / can’t do was huge. 4. (LETTING HIS N*TS HANG). More on the Drake stuff with “GAME OVER” at the end — feud is over maybe? Also jabbed at Drake for suing and dangled the Not Like Us anthem throughout until he finally let it play 😭😭😭 5. (HOPE). SZA sang All The Stars, which was a huge song of hope when the Black Panther film dropped starring Chadwick Boseman back in 2018. You just had to BE THERE to know what I mean when this movie was in theatres and what it meant to black people, but it was like an anthem of black pride 6. (BE HUMBLE) Kendrick was also wearing an “a-minor” chain (play on the Drake lyrics) and was in his usual laid back jeans outfit signaling that he’s still just a down to earth guy who remembers where he came from despite his now huge fame. No gimmicky costumes, just vibes. 7. (AMPLIFYING STORIES) The set itself also mimicked many of the urban black neighborhoods you see in Los Angeles 8. Still unpacking what the “The revolution WILL be televised. Right time, wrong guy” like meant though That’s all I’ve got for now, cheers if you read this far 😭😁

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Nicole Monterroza

@nicole_desoto

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