Kendrick Lamar, who headlined the Super Bowl 59 halftime show on Feb. 9, sparked conversation online during his performance for its subtle imagery and interwoven themes that addressed the larger issue of racial dynamics in the United States.

His performance became the most-watched halftime show of all time with 133.5 million viewers.

The performance began with Samuel L. Jackson introducing himself as Uncle Sam, the patriotic figure of American propaganda, calling it the “great American game.” His introduction briefly overlapped with the intro of “wacced out murals.”

The stage was transformed to illustrate a game controller with a square, circle, x, and triangle shape in each corner, representing a different set of his performance.

He began the show with an unreleased song atop a 1987 Buick GNX, referencing his latest album of the same name. He then transitioned into “Squabble Up,” the lead single from “GNX.”

“The revolution ‘bout to be televised, you picked the right time but the wrong guy,” Lamar said, referring to Gil-Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.”

In response, Jackson returned as a narrator throughout the performance, rebuking Lamar for being “too ghetto” and asking if he knew how to “play the game.” Jackson’s commentary acts as a more straightforward transition that directly references criticisms the Black community often faces, especially in moments of self-expression.

Lamar then performed “Humble” among a group of dancers dressed in colors that formed a split American flag with Lamar standing in the middle. The visual seemingly represented the divide between people in the United States due to the ongoing racial and political tension.

He then transitioned into “DNA.” The song includes a snippet of former Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera criticizing hip-hop music. “This is why I say that hip hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years.”

Lamar is known to weave his personal growth, experiences, culture, and community into his songs. Each song on the setlist holds meaning reflective of his experiences as a Black man in a country that has changed in so many ways, yet simultaneously feels stuck in the past. The halftime show pieced his songs together to create commentary on what it means to be American.

His performance of “DNA” was followed by “Euphoria” and “Man at the Garden.” “Euphoria” was released as a diss toward Drake where Lamar essentially calls Drake a phony.

Keeping energy high, Lamar teased “Not Like Us” after rapping “peekaboo.” He jokes, “you know they love to sue,” referring to Drake’s lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Lamar’s diss tracks.

SZA then joined him on stage to perform “Luther” and “All The Stars.” “That’s what I’m talking about,” Jackson says as he returns in front of the camera. “That’s what America wants. Nice, calm. You’re almost there.”

In contrast, Lamar ended the show with “Not Like Us,” the five-time Grammy-winning diss track against Drake. The crowd joined in singing along to the viral “a minor” line and filled in the silence Lamar leaves in place of calling Drake a pedophile.

Serena Williams also made a surprise appearance crip-walking alongside the dancers. Williams was rumored to have a romantic connection to Drake in the early 2010s. She had also received backlash for crip-walking during the 2012 London Olympics and Wimbledon in 2023, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Lamar ended the performance with “Game Over” spelled out in lights across the arena. Fans found the performance to be exciting and well thought out. However, the symbolism also confused many, mostly non-Black viewers who did not understand the message Lamar was trying to convey.

Many who were uninterested in the symbolism called his performance boring and lackluster. Lamar acknowledged that many people would miss the point of his performance in his opening song, saying, “you would not get the picture if I had to sit you for hours in front of the Louvre.”

Fashion during the performance also went viral with Lamar’s flared Celine jeans trending among viewers. He accessorized with a lowercase ‘a’ chain that fans assumed to be a reference to his “a minor” line in “Not Like Us” or a reference to his company pgLang.

The live performance has been uploaded to Lamar’s Spotify and the NFL YouTube page.