The Revolution WAS televised: Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show

Feb 10, 2025

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I am truly grateful for how Kendrick and his team crafted the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show. His performance was laced with so many hidden yet obvious messages and in this article, I would like to dive into what this performance meant to me as a black woman.

Serena Williams On A Pedestal

Despite the many great achievements done by strong and intelligent black women since the beginning of this country, many people still love to try to deny how valuable black women are to this society. They think that if they keep lying about it, people will somehow forget how the contributions of black women and men built the strongest economy in the world. There have been billion-dollar subtle campaigns (disguised as entertainment) created to manipulate people into thinking that black women should be treated poorly, disregarded, disrespected, and seen as low value. Kendrick Lamar’s nemesis, Drake, has done this in previous songs when mentioning Serena Williams and her husband disrespectfully (they allegedly used to date). The way Kendrick defended Serena in his hit song, Not Like Us, healed my heart because it can sometimes feel like Black Men have forgotten how to see the beauty in black women. Seeing Serena on that Super Bowl stage took the message to new heights because Kendrick Lamar did what so many people lack the courage and strength to do, honor beautiful black women. So many people cannot think for themselves but Kendrick is not one of those people. He has integrity and he has enough resilience and strength to stand on the truth and speak up for what is right even when it’s not popular. I thank him for using that moment to uplift black women. As a darker-skinned black woman, I am sure Serena has had similar experiences to women like me. It was so refreshing and beautiful to have an intelligent black man stand up for us.

Standing Up Against Pedophilia

My older sister committed suicide after being raped by someone in our family. Although she was an adult when it happened, it still doesn’t take away the fact that someone she trusted and loved took advantage of her seeing them as an authority figure. The death of my sister still troubles me from time to time and many of my relatives have worked very hard to silence me from even talking about what happened with my sister. They are protecting the man who did that to her and they even went so far as to work overtime to destroy my character with anyone who would listen in my hometown. They don’t want me talking about it at all and many of them silently despise me for even attempting to talk about it in previous years.

I have also been sexually violated as a child and for many years I tried to deny it because it was easier to just act like it never happened. When I finally did face it, I struggled with feeling like I was still worthy. I struggled with wondering if it was my fault because no one protected me and the people involved never faced any consequences. They went on with life like it never happened and swept it under the rug. My well being didn’t matter to them. I also struggled with wondering if any man would ever love me despite that. I spent many years giving my body to men who did not deserve me because I didn’t know how to value myself. No one ever taught me how to love myself. I talk about that in my book “Bullies Didn’t Break Me“.

Nevertheless, the song “Not Like Us” gives healing to someone who actually has experienced people in real life normalising sexual abuse towards children. It is disgusting to think that people will know that a child is being sexually violated yet turn a blind eye because they don’t want their loved one to be held accountable for the harm they inflicted on an innocent child.

I have watched some interviews of women who were forced into prostitution as a child and I vividly remember many of them saying that a lot of the repeat customers who were seeking sex with them as 12,13, and 14-year-old children were often married men with wedding rings on. It is quite disgusting to actually think that so many men are out here doing this. I can recall one story in which the mother of the child found her at a house where she was being held with other girls to perform routine underage prostitution. After removing her daughter from the home, she went to the police station only to find out that the police had no intention of helping. They literally told her that there was nothing they would do about it.

Regardless of whether Drake will ever be found guilty of having relations with minors, the performance of “Not Like Us” on the Super Bowl stage dismantled the idea that men lusting after children will be accepted in our society. The unspoken approval of that behaviour has been revoked and the powerful words which are still ringing in the ears of many Americans will force people to stand up for our children and protect them.

Redirection of Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop did not start as a genre of music filled with hateful, aggressive, and misogynistic messages. It actually used to be fun, uplifting, and empowering before it was infiltrated by people looking to use it as a war tool against black people. There is evidence of projects which existed solely to pay black people to push harmful messages to our youth and destroy our communities through this psychological attack.

Kendrick Lamar is not a rapper who pushes destructive messages. He is actually one of the very few rappers who uses his talent to make people think and reflect on the ways of this world. That is exactly what he did with his Super Bowl halftime show. He showed real power, resilience, and strength during his performance which cannot be easily duplicated. I have not begun dissecting all of the hidden messages within his imagery but I look forward to doing so in the weeks to come.

It was wonderful to see Kendrick take the lead and show black people that we don’t have to be talking stupid nor overtly sexual to be effective. We can be intelligent, we can be strong, we can be bold, and we can have meaning yet reach the biggest stage in the world while doing it.

Moving Forward With Strength

The representation Kendrick Lamar gave at the 2025 Super Bowl left many black Americans feeling proud. He showed that all of the pain our ancestors endured was not in vain. He showed that we can package the pain of living amongst people who may hate us simply for the color of our skin and use it to do big things. He showed that with effort, determination, and commitment we can do anything. Lastly, he showed that we can demand respect with our gifts and talents so much that even people who may not like us will have no choice but to admit that we are great after we put in the work to be phenomenal.

I hope this article blesses your life.

Warm Regards,

Keonna Hamlett