On Feb. 13, 2024, I wrote a column about the inspiration behind the Kansas City Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl wins, praising the team’s never-quit attitude in the comeback win and being the Grim Reaper when things were grim, to paraphrase Coach Andy Reid.
This year’s Super Bowl, however, was nothing but grim, and an Eagle-winged reaper wreaking havoc on the attempt at being the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row. Philadelphia played an excellent game. The Chiefs’ offensive line may as well have been tissue paper, and the Eagles’ pass defense had the eye of their mascot.
You can’t win them all, and this one was not in the cards. Yet, given Kansas City’s frequency of making the big game in the last five years, there’s already hope for 2026.
While the Chiefs came up short, I enjoyed watching another winner on Sunday — Kendrick Lamar.
This may be an unpopular opinion in Barry County, but as a big fan of the Pulitzer Prize winner and recipient of 22 Grammy Awards, I ate up every minute of the dozen he was on the screen and the 11 songs he performed.
I attended public schools in Little Rock, Ark., from grades 2-12 where Caucasians were the minority, and I wouldn’t change that upbringing for anything.
As I went through high school, I strayed away from the classic rock and country on which my parents reared me and delved into hiphop and rap. It was not uncommon at Little Rock Central High School for there to be a spontaneous rap battle in the lunch patio or hallways.
Watching some of my friends “freestyle off the dome,” I was in awe of how they could string words and rhymes together so fast in their heads, often making it topically relevant to that day or week.
I’d heard a few Kendrick Lamar songs in the 2010s, but not enough to realize his talent. It was after the 2022 Super Bowl halftime performance in Dr. Dre’s West Coast hip-hop lineup that I became a true fan.
In the ensuing months, I listened to each of Lamar’s albums in succession. I was hooked.
It was easy to see how he is the only rapper to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. His music tells the story of who he is and where he hopes to go. Songs like “Art of Peer Pressure,” “Rich Spirit,” and “Auntie Diaries” don’t just make you sway with the beat — they make you think.
Reaction to Lamar’s halftime performance Sunday was mixed. In fairness, if you are not a fan of hip-hop and not aware of (or interested in) his rap beef with Drake last year, this halftime show was not for you.
However, Lamar was a winner on Sunday because he did what he does best. He told a story. It was a story of the kid from Compton making it big in the USA — as big as the Super Bowl — knowing his style and performance would be ill-received by many.
Samuel Jackson as Uncle Sam pegging part of the performance as “too loud, too reckless, too ghetto” for the Super Bowl, only for Lamar to stay true to himself and his music, was as on the nose as it gets and a stroke of brilliance in entertainment.
The arc of the show peaked with his performance of “Not Like Us.” With 1 billion streams, it’s the most decorated Grammy-winning song ever with 5 this year and is widely regarded as the track that won the beef against Drake. It calls out Drake directly as a culture vulture and a pedophile.
He left out that latter word in Sunday’s performance, but to the millions who know the meaning of the track, just playing the first verse and chorus — punctuated by the Superdome crowd’s audibly singing along the line, “tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A-Minor” and Drake’s ex Serena Williams doing a dance on stage she was ridiculed for doing after winning Wimbledon in 2012 — exceeded expectations.
It was my favorite halftime show in many years, and I spent Sunday night and Monday soaking in every story I could find on the imagery and messages I may have missed. There was a lot to break down, and I challenge those who did not know the gist going in to Google “Kendrick Lamar halftime meaning” and read any of the numerous breakdowns. It was a powerful performance.
If you did not enjoy Kendrick Lamar, don’t fret! The Super Bowl has been very hip-hop and R&B driven in recent years, and judging by the history of performers, I’m anticipating a switch in demographics. The early 2000s saw many more mainstream artists center stage, like Aerosmith and NSYNC in 2001 and U2 in 2002. The lineup from 2008-2010 was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band, and The Who.
For me, those three years were the least memorable in the last 20, but as they say, different strokes for different folks.
No matter who plays the halftime show next year and beyond, I hope they use it as an opportunity to entertain, but also to educate, inform and inspire.
And if I find myself not understanding the message, I hope it makes me think..
Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he is a two-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847 2610 or ktroutman@cassville- democrat.com.
