Yearly, the Tremendous Bowl halftime present sparks conversations, debates, and polarizing reactions. This yr was no totally different with Kendrick Lamar taking the stage. I braced myself for the inevitable wave of criticism, notably from older audiences who wrestle to attach with fashionable artists. And sadly, a lot of this criticism appears disproportionately geared toward Black artists like Lamar—and rap music basically.
Trying previous Lamar’s efficiency for a second, it’s price noting that such criticism truly reveals a big problem in our tradition: we see so many issues, music included, by way of a consumerist lens. As a substitute of seeing music as an artwork type that invitations us into one other individual’s expertise, we choose it primarily based on what it does for us. We ask, “Does it entertain us? Can we take pleasure in it? Can we agree with its message?” This mindset just isn’t distinctive to music, however moderately, is deeply embedded in how we work together with all the pieces, even the church. Folks typically consider sermons and worship experiences primarily based on how a lot they “obtained out” of them moderately than in the event that they have been challenged or formed by God’s Phrase.
Music isn’t just about being entertained, but in addition about seeing the world by way of another person’s eyes.
Music, like all artwork, asks us to withstand this consumerist method. It asks us to step exterior of ourselves and have interaction with one other individual’s actuality. It’s not nearly being entertained, but in addition about seeing the world by way of another person’s eyes. Music, in its essence, is a deeply communal and relational expertise, and after we scale back it to mere private enjoyment, we strip it of a lot depth and which means. Which brings us again to Lamar’s efficiency.
Judging with Equal Measure
A typical motive individuals reject rap music is the language or imagery utilized in its lyrics. And sure, it’s true—some rap lyrics are dehumanizing and comprise language that I wouldn’t need my kids repeating. Nevertheless, dismissing a complete style due to this implies lacking the deeper context of its songs. Music is commonly an expression of lived expertise, wrestle, ache, and typically lament. It tells tales which may in any other case go unheard.
With books, we frequently learn narratives about troublesome, even brutal realities. On the subject of music, nonetheless, we’re fast to dismiss songs that make us uncomfortable. Discomfort, nonetheless, is usually a highly effective instructor. As a substitute of asking, “Do I wish to repeat this tune to my children?,” maybe we must always ask, “What is that this tune attempting to say? What expertise is it highlighting? What story does it inform?”
Music has typically served as a automobile for social commentary and alter. Folks songs advised tales of hardship and triumph. Gospel music emerged from the depths of struggling whereas carrying the hope of deliverance. Protest songs from the Civil Rights period grew to become anthems of change. Rap continues this custom, serving as a modern-day storytelling medium that sheds gentle on social injustice, financial disparity, and the realities of city life. Rap has all the time been a style that calls for consideration. It forces listeners to confront troublesome truths and have interaction with views they could in any other case ignore.
Many who critique rap music don’t apply the identical normal to different genres. There are rock, pop, and nation songs with themes and lyrics that I wouldn’t need my children listening to, but these songs are typically extra extensively accepted. Willie Nelson and Kacey Musgraves brazenly rejoice marijuana and extreme alcoholism. KISS constructed their total model on intercourse, partying, and cash, with Gene Simmons boasting about sleeping with over 4,000 girls. These musicians have glorified intercourse, medicine, and cash for many years, however they’re celebrated as rebellious artists and cultural icons. When rappers inform comparable tales—typically from real-life experiences moderately than simply fantasy—they’re accused of being unhealthy influences, selling crime, and missing creative worth. This proves the bias isn’t about content material—it’s about who’s telling the story and which tradition is being represented.
Even the Bible incorporates elements that I wouldn’t learn to my children at a younger age. The Apostle Paul typically used robust language in his letters to drive his factors residence (Philippians 3:8). David wrote psalms that referred to as for justice, even asking that his enemies’ kids be left fatherless and their wives turn into widows (Psalm 109). The prophet Jeremiah condemned the wickedness of Israel and Judah, likening their unfaithfulness to that of a prostitute (Jeremiah 3:2). Lastly, Isaiah used the placing imagery of a garment stained with menstrual blood to explain human righteousness (Isaiah 64:6).
Language will be highly effective, and in some circumstances, even cursing will be much less about dehumanizing others and extra about expressing deep lament and grief. Such stunning language and imagery doesn’t mechanically connote an absence of worth. Slightly, it might imply that maturity is required to totally grasp their which means.
The expectation, due to this fact, that sure artists should current their work in a means that’s “palatable” to mainstream audiences can result in the removing of cultural authenticity and aesthetic energy. Rap, particularly, is a uncooked and unfiltered type of expression, capturing the realities of life in ways in which extra polished and sanitized artwork kinds can not. To dismiss it fully is to silence voices that should be heard.
Rap’s Energy as Artwork
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime present exemplified the facility of rap as an artwork type. His tune selections, the inclusion of Samuel L. Jackson as a commentator, and the very nature of his efficiency highlighted how rap is commonly met with resistance in mainstream America. Satirically, the backlash to his efficiency solely proves his level. The controversy wasn’t nearly his efficiency; it was a mirrored image of the precise cultural pressure that he uncovered. Folks’s criticism revealed that even when rap is on the heart of mainstream tradition, it’s nonetheless handled as an outsider that should conform or be silenced.
Rap, at its greatest, is poetry. It’s storytelling. It’s social commentary. Many individuals don’t even notice that Lamar received a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his lyrical and creative excellence, an acknowledgment that his work isn’t just music however literature, as nicely. To see him take the Tremendous Bowl stage was not nearly leisure; it was a cultural second that must be acknowledged for its significance.
Kendrick Lamar’s efficiency is a reminder that we should acknowledge the broader societal influence of rap. Not solely has it formed vogue, language, and even politics, however rap has performed a pivotal position in social justice actions, activism, and cultural identification. From Tupac Shakur’s prophetic reflections on systemic oppression to Lamar’s personal modern-day critiques of racial injustice, rap has persistently held up a mirror to society, demanding accountability, amplifying long-ignored voices, and offering a way of unity amongst those that resonate with its messages.
A New Method to Hear
Clearly, not everybody must take pleasure in rap music. Musical choice is private. However we do have to learn to recognize artwork past our preferences. We should always pay attention not only for a catchy beat however for the message behind the lyrics, as nicely.
Once I watched Kendrick Lamar’s halftime present, I noticed an artist who was unafraid to make use of his platform to problem narratives and specific his expertise. He turned the world’s largest stage right into a daring assertion about race, creative freedom, and trade politics. By addressing societal opposition to rap, calling out trade feuds, and that includes Serena Williams as a logo of empowerment, he redefined what a halftime present may very well be. Extra than simply leisure, Lamar’s efficiency pressured a dialog that nobody had ever dared to carry to this stage.
And although not everybody will take pleasure in his music, all of us have the chance to method it with an open thoughts, to pay attention deeply, and to hunt to glimpse the world by way of the lens of another person’s actuality. That is the invitation provided by all nice artwork—not simply to be entertained, however to have our views expanded. The query is, will we settle for that invitation?
Might we take to coronary heart the phrases of James, the brother of Jesus, as we try to mirror Christ in these divisive instances: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let each individual be fast to listen to, sluggish to talk, sluggish to anger” (James 1:19).
