If there’s one thing you can expect from award-winning artist Kendrick Lamar, it’s a show filled with symbolism meant for audiences to dive into to figure out the real, deeper message woven in the bars of his music.

Lamar’s art — whether it’s the words he writes into lyrical poetry or the set up of the performance itself — often tells a story bigger than himself. Rather, Lamar uses his platform as a performer to tell the story of Black America through his own eyes, through the lens of a Black man from Compton who refuses to be satisfied with the way the country he calls home has treated his community.

‘The Great American Game’

The performance starts with flashing lights and illuminated stages shaped like the buttons on a PlayStation controller — the cross button, circle button, triangle button and square button.

The audience was then welcomed to “The Great American Game,” and that phrase is continually used throughout the rest of the performance. Lamar is known for his use of multiple meanings within his art — while “The Great American Game” could serve as a reference to video games like the stage or to the game of football itself, the rest of Lamar’s set paints a different definition.

“The Great American Game” is something Black Americans have to play every day — they have to make decisions and choices in order to try to succeed in a country built off the exploitation and systemic oppression of their ancestors, which Lamar argues through his show has continued to impact Black Americans.

Uncle ‘Sam’

Hollywood superstar and Academy-award winner Samuel L. Jackson was tapped in by Lamar to portray Uncle Sam — the well-known personified depiction of the United States often associated with patriotism.

Jackson, portraying a character synonymous with traditional American values, sent a message to the audience, a clear and deliberate one given the current state of politics in the U.S. However, the intended message is amplified even more when one takes into account Jackson’s own involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.

Yes, you read that right: the Academy Award winner was active in fighting for Civil Rights, including but not limited to serving as an usher at Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and participating as an active member of the Black Panther Party. Jackson was a revolutionary in his own right. However, revolution can’t exist without action, which sometimes manifests in a more outward and radical manner.

In 1969, Jackson and a group of activist Morehouse students held the college’s board of trustees hostage, demanding for changes in the curriculum of the school, as well as for more diverse representation in the governing board of the institution. Morehouse eventually gave in and agreed to amendments and reforms, but Jackson was expelled for his actions.

Choosing Jackson to portray the literal embodiment of American values changes what Uncle Sam has traditionally meant. America was built after a radical revolution — one that took violence to see an end —and once the colonies were freed, a nation where anything could be possible was built.

By having a radical Civil Rights activist turned Academy award-winning actor depict Uncle Sam, it represents America’s true nature: built on the back of revolution, from the great American Revolution for independence to Black and Brown activists fighting for equal rights.

‘You picked the right time but the wrong guy’

Lamar quoted legendary Black poet Gil Scott Heron’s work, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” in the show’s opening sequence. Lamar changes the poem by saying, “The revolution will be televised — you picked the right time but the wrong guy.” It’s clear the nod to Heron was in reference to Lamar’s own feelings on the state of affairs in the U.S., but most specifically, who the people voted to lead the nation.

In 2016, after Donald Trump was elected to his first term, Lamar — who is known for rare media interviews — went on the record to share his thoughts on how he felt about the Republican president-elect.

“We all are baffled. It is something that completely disregards our moral compass,” Lamar shared. “The key differences [between Obama and Trump] are morals, dignity, principles, common sense. How can you follow someone who doesn’t know how to approach someone or speak to them kindly and with compassion and sensitivity? It’s just building up the fire in me. It builds the fire for me to keep pushing as hard as I want to push.”

And with Trump present as the first sitting president to attend the Super Bowl, Lamar took the opportunity to address him directly on one of the biggest stages in the world.

‘Too ghetto’

Uncle Sam, aka Jackson, would occasionally interrupt Lamar’s performance, one of those times even going on to say Lamar’s actions and songs were “too…ghetto.”

The word ghetto simply means “a poor urban area occupied primarily by a minority group or groups,” according to the Oxford Dictionary, but that word over time has evolved into an adjective often used to describe something resembling or characteristic of a ghetto or its inhabitants. In the U.S., it’s specifically used in relation to Black culture, and in more times than not, it’s used in a way that’s meant to be condescending or demeaning.

Lamar has always been open about being from Compton, a city in Los Angeles County known for its rich history and influence in U.S. Black culture. Compton, however, also has a reputation for being a “hub for violent crime” and holds the unofficial title of “The Most Dangerous City in California.” Many high-profile public figures — from politicians to celebrities — have talked down about the city despite it producing some of the most famous musicians, athletes, artists, and politicians in history.

Uncle Sam calling Lamar’s performance is a call to how Americans, throughout history, have described anything celebrating Black culture as “ghetto” — whether they use that exact word — to demean and talk down those who are a part of it.

What’s driven this point home is how conservative media has responded to Lamar’s show.

A perfect example comes from the conservative cable network Newsmax, specifically from the commentary show “Rob Schmitt Tonight.” The show’s host, Rob Schmitt, said Lamar’s halftime performance was “quite possibly, the worst halftime show we’ve ever seen.” (He clearly didn’t see Travis Scott come from an asteroid in 2019.)

His rant continued:

“A tiny rapper in bellbottoms, who 98% of the country has never heard of, was allowed to play most of his largely unknown catalog for 20 grueling minutes in front of the entire world. The whole world just sat and wondered why they were watching this. ‘Who is this?’ everybody asked, no matter where you were.

“Nobody had a clue what this was, except maybe a half percent of the people in this country alone. And for a league so obsessed with diversity as the NFL is, maybe you’ll notice last night’s halftime show was the first ever, that we can recall, that was fully chromatic as far as race.

“In true ‘woke’ fashion, it was done with no apologies whatsoever. American culture used to not allow such gratuitous racism, now it applauds it — or at least, it did, because now it’s thankfully ending.”

Lamar has won 22 Grammy Awards, 37 BET Hip Hop Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, 11 MTV Video Music Awards, one Primetime Emmy Award, one Brit Award, four American Music Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. Needless to say, Lamar isn’t some unknown rapper the NFL hand-selected to be their poster child for “woke,” as Schmitt put it.

Schmitt’s criticism of Lamar was that he was too “woke” and implied he was racist for having an all-Black dance ensemble and crew. What Schmitt — and many other conservatives in America — is actually saying is clear and easy to decipher: Lamar’s unapologetic tribute to his culture goes against the America they believe and aspire for, and in turn, implying anyone who doesn’t adhere to that standard should be struck down.

Uncle Sam calling Lamar “too ghetto” depicted what Schmitt and others continue to prove: the narrative perpetuated by those who tout “patriotic” or “American” values, claiming Black culture and celebrating it is anti-American.

To quote Lamar’s 2017 song XXX featuring U2:

“It’s nasty when you set us up Then roll the dice, then bet us up You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us, Gang members or terrorists, et cetera, et cetera America’s reflections of me, that’s what a mirror does…”