In the most recent Super Bowl (LIX) between the Kansas CIty Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, the world got a rather unique halftime show that sent a message to everybody.

Back in 2024 when it was announced that world-famous American Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, would be performing at the next Super Bowl halftime show, reactions were rather mixed due to the majority of the world’s iffy familiarity with Lamar and his songs.

However, on February 9, 2025, the world got a halftime show that left a powerful message to the world that not too many people noticed.

As soon as the show kicked off, it was clear that there would be a unique theme being presented to the viewers. It started off with the camera on the popular African American actor, Samuel L. Jackson, dressed up as Uncle Sam, a symbol of the United States Federal Government, as he introduces us to “The Great American Game.”

Jackson’s presence wasn’t just for show, his character praised Lamar for “slowing things down” before the rapper launched into his now infamous performance of Not Like Us, a diss track aimed at famous Canadian rapper, Drake. 

The moment was seen as a critique of the way mainstream institutions attempt to control and censor artists who speak truth to power.

Imagery representing our nation was seen everywhere during the performance, not least of all when backup dancers dressed in red, white, and blue arranged to form the shape of the American flag during the opening sequence of “Humble”. The moment had layered significance. 

First off, some viewers interpreted the all-black arrangement of dancers as a comment on how the US was built on the labour of African Americans. To add on, the flag that the choreographers made was split right down the middle, which could be interpreted as this nation as a whole, a country that is divided.

Another symbol that has remained a major online speculation is the apparent recreation of a PlayStation controller in the closing moments of the performance. As Lamar performed his Drake diss track, “Not Like Us”, backup dancers spread out across the stage to form the shape of an X, square, triangle, and circle, the iconic buttons on a Sony PlayStation controller. 

While the exact intentions behind this are still unclear, many fans have suggested that this PlayStation controller theme is intended to represent Lamar’s life as a video game. Regardless, the video game analogy resurfaced moments later when drones took to the sky to spell out ‘Game Over’ above the crowd.