The Joy of The Culture
The Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show featuring Kendrick Lamar has been the talk of social media, broadcast news, and talk shows. Organizations have crafted memes on social media marketing their products and TikTok users are creating reels imitating Lamar’s two-step and Peek-a-Boo dance.
Lemar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show is now the most watched in history, regardless of personal opinions.
To be invited by the National Football League to perform during the Super Bowl Halftime, the NFL Entertainment Team considers the artist's genre, cultural impact, and ability to put on a show big enough to rival the game itself.
In recent years, the NFL has booked acts that have made significant cultural contributions to society and culture. Some with limited vocabulary may say this makes the NFL “woke”. But, let me stay on point.
This year, I was excited to see Kendrick Lamar perform. Knowing his fast flow, I needed subtitles to catch every lyric. When the beat dropped, I couldn't stay still.
When the camera caught Serena Williams crip walking and piercing the camera with her I don’t give a care, gaze. THAT WAS EVERYTHING!! While dancing in sneakers and a blue mini-skirt two-piece, the world’s top tennis player reflected pure joy.
Watching Lamar as he strolled all over his set in bell-bottoms, hat to the back, and bomber jacket, I thought, I didn’t think I’d see him wearing those pants. But I was still feeling it. During the performance, actor Samuel Jackson, playing Uncle Sam, issued chiding remarks and warnings.
Uncle Sam said, "No no no no no! Too loud, too reckless - too ghetto! Mr. Lamar, do you really know how to play the game? Then tighten up! " and "That’s what America wants! Nice and calm.”
My heart swelled. I understood that reprimands as I believe most Black Americans and some White Americans understood as well.
When the show ended, I had two words to describe it: Black Joy. Joy is an emotion that transcends any external circumstances and situation. Black Joy is connected to the grit, strength, and perseverance left behind by our ancestors who survived the worst experiences - slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, redlining, etc. - and bravely rose above it all to shine brightly, despite efforts to dim their light. While Black Joy is the beautiful fruit produced from horrific circumstances, it is also an act of resistance.
Lamar, the dancers, SZA, and Williams all embodied Black Joy through style, dance, and talent. While living in a time where we are bombarded with attempts to demean our humanity and erase our history, this halftime show said, “Not today!”
Black women, men, boys, and girls know that JOY.
It’s listening to old-school music and dancing at a cookout during the Summer.
It’s the same Black Joy I experienced as a little girl when my mom oiled my scalp with Afro Sheen.
It’s the joy found in Negro Spirituals' songs of hope rooted in American slavery like, “Ride on, King Jesus; no many cannot hinda me!
It’s the joy felt by hard-working Black women as they were named the most educated demographic by the National Center for Education Statistics Click here for citation.
It’s the joy the enslaved found while creating delicious one-pot meals from ‘throwaways’ to feed families around the slave pens.
It’s the joy rooted in the worship experience – the music and the call and response of the Black Church.
Black Joy.
Some may not have understood Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance. But one thing is for certain, I understood the Black Joy.
Click here to read my blog post, “Hip Hop, a Keeper of History”
