Yearly, the Tremendous Bowl halftime present sparks conversations, debates, and polarizing reactions. This yr was no completely different with Kendrick Lamar taking the stage. I braced myself for the inevitable wave of criticism, notably from older audiences who battle to attach with trendy artists. And sadly, a lot of this criticism appears disproportionately geared toward Black artists like Lamar—and rap music typically.

Wanting previous Lamar’s efficiency for a second, it’s value noting that such criticism really reveals a major subject in our tradition: we see so many issues, music included, via a consumerist lens. As a substitute of seeing music as an artwork kind 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 get pleasure from it? Can we agree with its message?” This mindset just isn’t distinctive to music, however somewhat, is deeply embedded in how we work together with the whole lot, even the church. Folks typically consider sermons and worship experiences primarily based on how a lot they “bought out” of them somewhat than in the event that they had been challenged or formed by God’s Phrase.

Music is not only about being entertained, but in addition about seeing the world via another person’s eyes.

Music, like all artwork, asks us to withstand this consumerist strategy. It asks us to step outdoors of ourselves and have interaction with one other individual’s actuality. It’s not nearly being entertained, but in addition about seeing the world via another person’s eyes. Music, in its essence, is a deeply communal and relational expertise, and once 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 include language that I wouldn’t need my kids repeating. Nevertheless, dismissing a whole style due to this implies lacking the deeper context of its songs. Music is commonly an expression of lived expertise, battle, ache, and generally lament. It tells tales that may in any other case go unheard. 

With books, we regularly learn narratives about tough, even brutal realities. With regards to music, nonetheless, we’re fast to dismiss songs that make us uncomfortable. Discomfort, nonetheless, generally is a highly effective trainer. As a substitute of asking, “Do I wish to repeat this tune to my children?,” maybe we should 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. People songs instructed 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 at all times been a style that calls for consideration. It forces listeners to confront tough truths and have interaction with views they may in any other case ignore. 

Many who critique rap music don’t apply the identical commonplace 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 usually extra broadly accepted. Willie Nelson and Kacey Musgraves overtly rejoice marijuana and extreme alcoholism. KISS constructed their whole 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 related tales—typically from real-life experiences somewhat than simply fantasy—they’re accused of being unhealthy influences, selling crime, and missing inventive 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 comprises components that I wouldn’t learn to my children at a younger age. The Apostle Paul generally used sturdy language in his letters to drive his factors dwelling (Philippians 3:8). David wrote psalms that known as for justice, even asking that his enemies’ kids be left fatherless and their wives change 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 hanging imagery of a garment stained with menstrual blood to explain human righteousness (Isaiah 64:6).

Language will be highly effective, and in some instances, even cursing will be much less about dehumanizing others and extra about expressing deep lament and grief. Such surprising language and imagery doesn’t mechanically connote an absence of worth. Somewhat, it may imply that maturity is required to completely grasp their which means.

The expectation, due to this fact, that sure artists should current their work in a manner that’s “palatable” to mainstream audiences can result in the elimination of cultural authenticity and aesthetic energy. Rap, specifically, is a uncooked and unfiltered type of expression, capturing the realities of life in ways in which extra polished and sanitized artwork varieties can not. To dismiss it totally is to silence voices that must be heard.

Rap’s Energy as Artwork

Kendrick Lamar’s halftime present exemplified the ability of rap as an artwork kind. His tune decisions, 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. Paradoxically, 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 stress that he uncovered. Folks’s criticism revealed that even when rap is on the middle 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 gained a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for his lyrical and inventive excellence, an acknowledgment that his work is not only music however literature, as nicely. To see him take the Tremendous Bowl stage was not nearly leisure; it was a cultural second that needs to be acknowledged for its significance. 

Kendrick Lamar’s efficiency is a reminder that we should acknowledge the broader societal affect of rap. Not solely has it formed style, language, and even politics, however rap has performed a pivotal position in social justice actions, activism, and cultural id. From Tupac Shakur’s prophetic reflections on systemic oppression to Lamar’s personal modern-day critiques of racial injustice, rap has constantly 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 Approach to Hear

Clearly, not everybody must get pleasure from rap music. Musical choice is private. However we do have to discover ways to respect artwork past our preferences. We must 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, inventive freedom, and trade politics. By addressing societal opposition to rap, calling out trade feuds, and that includes Serena Williams as an emblem of empowerment, he redefined what a halftime present may very well be. Extra than simply leisure, Lamar’s efficiency compelled a dialog that nobody had ever dared to carry to this stage.

And although not everybody will get pleasure from his music, all of us have the chance to strategy it with an open thoughts, to pay attention deeply, and to hunt to glimpse the world via 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 occasions: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let each individual be fast to listen to, gradual to talk, gradual to anger” (James 1:19).