Kendrick Lamar televised ‘the revolution’ during Super Bowl halftime performance. Here’s what it meant

Standing atop a Buick GNX, rapper Kendrick Lamar warned, “The revolution ‘bout to be televised. You picked the right time, but the wrong guy.” Flipping Gil Scott-Heron’s 1971 poem about Black liberation, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,”, Lamar utilized his 13-minute Super Bowl halftime performance to tell a uniquely American story — all while dissing Canadian rapper Drake. Inside New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome, actor Samuel L. Jackson appeared as Uncle Sam in a star-patterned top hat and introduced the crowd to “the great American game.” Guiding the audience through halftime, he made remarks like “Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto” after Lamar’s performance of “Squabble Up.” When longtime collaborator SZA joined the rapper to sing “Luther” and “All the Stars,” the Oscar-nominated song from “Black Panther’s” soundtrack, Jackson exclaimed, “That’s what America wants! Nice and calm.” The actor’s performance and commentary led to comparisons to his Uncle Tom role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” where he played a loyal house slave named Stephen. But as the recognizable beat echoed, Lamar flashed a sly smile while rapping the line, “Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young,” and let the audience fill in the blank, calling him a “certified pedophile.” Rapper Flavor Flav was among the celebrities who took to X to praise the performance, writing, “The way the WHOLE stadium just yelled ‘A MINOOOOOOOOOORRRRR.’ ” Ab-Soul, who’s signed to Lamar’s label, Top Dawg Entertainment, also wrote on X, “BIG AS DA SUPER BOWL,” referencing Drake’s “First Person Shooter” — the track that instigated the feud between the rappers.