If you won't stand up to your racist grandfather, stop asking Kendrick Lamar to stand up to Trump
The Super Bowl performance I went from being excited about to being wary
Writer’s note on February 10, 2025: I was so impatiently waiting to see this performance that I downloaded TUBI so I wouldn’t miss anything if it came on while I walked my dog. To my relief, it started 60 seconds before I returned home. I can’t say I was wow’d by the whole thing, but I loved parts. I especially loved seeing all those chocolate people in the shape of a flag; the dancers; the red, white and blue theme reminding those who try to act like we’re not here too; reflecting on Chadwick Boseman; and clapped when “Mustaaaaaaard” came out.
Unpopular opinion: “Not Like Us” diluted the whole artistic performance. It felt trivial, considering all the commotion with tariffs in Canada and far bigger issues with the GOP, including our economy. Justin Trudeau stepping down after nine years is disturbing. I could be wrong, but I felt like “Uncle Sam” Samuel L. Jackson may have been a hint at what’s happening in 2025. Maybe not. But Kendrick’s grudge against Drake is boring. I wish he ended with “Alright” and skipped that horrible “Peekaboo” chorus. He’s an incredible lyricist. I still blast “DNA” all the time — including the Don Cheadle video — but I lost interest in “Not Like Us” a while ago. As far as Serena Williams C-walking, meh. I respect her tennis record, but I’ve been side-eyeing her since the Steubenville comments. Blaming a reporter for those comments is on you, not Rolling Stone.
Unlike Usher’s performance and all three of Beyonce’s performances (with Bruno Mars and Destiny’s Child), including Beyonce Bowl, I don’t have any desire to see Kendrick Lamar’s performance again. I was hoping I’d want to watch it over and over again. I didn’t want Kendrick to speak to “him,” but I was interested in him speaking more to “us.” I guess people who don’t like Drake will love that part. I was underwhelmed and skipped over that and “Peekaboo” when I watched again. Ending on “TV Off” was well-played though.
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A large amount of Kanye West fans are baffled at his antics since 2018 while Donald Trump was in the White House. Hearing the same rapper who said, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” later declare himself a Nazi, claim Donald Trump is a “father figure” and “male empowerment,” and hint at banging Ivanka Trump is wild. But if you’re from Chicago, and you spent any of your childhood years hanging out on the South Side of Chicago on 79th Street, his antics are even wilder.
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Pretty much all of my immediate family and friends were sprinkled from Bronzeville to the Wild 100s, largely in the middle area. So to grow up there and even humor the idea of admiring someone like Donald Trump is laughable. You could’ve never convinced me that the backpack rapper — whose 2003 single and 2004 album became my go-to music after graduating from college — would act like he acts now.
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Disappointment list is growing
The same can be said for Nelly. My father’s side is from St. Louis, and I’ve been to Missouri more than enough times — including living there for two years while I was in college. There’s no way on Earth you could’ve convinced me that the “Country Grammar” rapper who was in the streets of Ferguson fighting for Mike Brown would be performing for Trump’s 2025 Inauguration.
Recommended Read: “I blame myself for being surprised by Nelly performing for Trump's Inauguration ~ With family from St. Louis, as a graduate of a Missouri HBCU and a longtime Nelly fan, I stayed in denial for as long as I could”
I’ve never been a big fan of pimp behavior nor am I wow’d by one white woman going to prison like Snoop is, so I could take or leave Snoop Dogg. Although disappointed, saying I was surprised he performed for MAGA would be an exaggeration. My reaction to his 2017 “jigaboo” video was the same “Hmmm” reaction I had for Rep. David Trone using the same terminology. I side-eyed both of them, and neither were all that convincing.
Finally, I was taken aback by Ice Cube’s “Contract With Black America” and Trump meetup, although he insisted that he’s not MAGA even if he’s never been clear on who he voted for the past three times.
Be careful who you call an ally
With all the Black girlfriends, Black barbers, reminders about Black History Month and fades Travis Kelce got, I’m not even surprised by his “awesome” response to Trump coming to the Super Bowl — although I definitely think Taylor Swift needs to start drafting a song of betrayal.
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The millisecond he stopped dating Black women, it was like all the swag in him withered away like a limp balloon. I wondered how much was performative.
And then there is Kendrick …
I keep reading social media stats declaring that Kendrick Lamar needs to treat Trump like he did Drake during their rap battle last year. I’m wincing. I honestly wish Trump was not going to be at the game tomorrow. I don’t want to see that stupidity he calls “dancing.” I don’t want to see his South African boss leaping around like a rabbit who had cocaine for the first time — nor his five rumored Super Bowl ads. I don’t want the camera to aim at them at all. I don’t want to see that smug look on J.D. Vance’s face, if he shows. I want all three of them to reside in the Bermuda Triangle.
Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest wouldn’t show up to the game to enjoy it. One of the three (or all three) are showing up because they cannot handle the idea that the media will take eyes off of them long enough to see the Kansas City Chiefs or the Philadelphia Eagles, or to watch a Black rapper who has owned Billboard all year perform.
I don’t want there to be any potential interactions between Kendrick Lamar and Trump. I grudgingly admit that I don’t want to risk being disappointed a third time by an artist I really like. I was not on anybody’s side in the Drake versus Kendrick beef. I like them both for different reasons. But I’ve made it more than clear which side I was on in the last presidential election. I hope Kendrick Lamar never boards the Trump train. These days, I can’t be certain I’m right and he’d never do so.
Recommended Read: “7 (un)popular opinions about the Drake versus Kendrick Lamar beef ~ From 'Poetic Justice' to 'Not Like Us': I'm on no one's side”
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But what’s agitating more is the people who are being extra loud about all the things Kendrick Lamar should do while he’s standing in front of Trump.