Let the kids have the (explicit) music
Super Bowl LIX was won by the Philadelphia Eagles in a blowout win against the Kansas City Chiefs. The game had well over 100 million viewers. No doubt there were those there for the football, but others just showed up to see potentially-iconic commercials and the concert between the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
This year’s half time performance was given by Kendrick Lamar, the Grammy award winning rapper and Compton native, who is still riding high from winning a rap beef against fellow superstar Drake in the Spring of 2024. While the performance and stage show were excellent, the cultural norm of censorship was the definite lowlight.
Any viewer familiar with Lamar’s music noticed that he had to replace every few words with a pause, a breath, or a less ‘offensive’ word in exchange for the original lyrics. In a celebration of ‘freedom’ and ‘American values,’ the right of the artist to express themselves authentically was quickly replaced with restrictions that would make the broadcast ‘family friendly.’
It’s necessary to point out the paradox here. It is perfectly good for a family to sit at home, watching players smash into each other at top speed. This results in bodily injuries and, as much as the NFL would not like to admit it, high levels of brain injuries. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been found in 345 of 376 deceased former NFL players. That doesn’t seem coincidental. It's an accepted part of the game. But football is never called violent or harmful despite these results.
Nor are there prohibitions on commercials for alcohol or gambling. The image of the Budweiser Clydesdales delivering beer through the rugged American outdoors was the favourite commercial among viewers this year. And every betting site around the world tried to get a piece of the $1.39 billion that Americans wagered legally on this year’s game. The betting industry was also able to place ads without backlash.
All of this is the Super Bowl experience. The American experience, even.
But last night proved there are still certain taboos that Americans demand.
Anyone who has listened to Lamar’s music knows that it aims to explore deep issues like race, relationships, love, fame, oppression, and self-identity. He does this through anger, sadness, humour, and yes, profanity. It is part of his art.
This music is then restricted by the commercial product that is the Super Bowl. It has to be toned down, made less ‘offensive,’ and made digestible to a broader audience.
But that audience is no longer seeing art in its only proper form: uncensored.
If you want to invite an artist like Kendrick Lamar to an event, you should let him be authentically himself, and use the language necessary to express himself in that way. You should not play on his popularity, and then muzzle him, in order to sell your product.
Let the kids have the explicit music. Let America have it. After all, you have everything else. The injuries, the violence, the alcohol commercials, the gambling commercials. You can’t tell me words now cause you offense. And if the themes of race and violence in Lamar’s lyrics scare you, perhaps it is time that you stare them in the face. After all, the content of Lamar’s music is just as American as the Super Bowl itself.
