Spike Lee, like millions of other Americans, tuned in to the Super Bowl halftime show to watch Kendrick Lamar‘s history-making spectacle. As Lee reflected on the Pulitzer-Prize winning artist’s show, the first rapper to headline the coveted mid-game performance, he drew parallels to his own film work.
Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as “Uncle Sam,” emcees the performance, calling the performance “too loud, too reckless — too ghetto!” in one instance and “That’s what America wants! Nice and calm” in another. The portrayal drew parallels to his role in Lee’s Chi-Raq, who would pop up in multi-hued suits and spoke in sing-song verses. Lamar also made reference to “40 acres and a mule,” a term that shares a name with Lee’s film company.
“I want to thank my brother Kendrick for the 40 acres and a mule shoutout which has been the name of my production company since NYU grad film school,” Lee wrote in a caption, posted Monday. “And I want to send a special shoutout to my Morehouse brother Samuel Jackson who started this Super Bowl Halftime extravaganza as Uncle Sam and you might’ve seen him as Dolmedes in Chi-Raq.”
“The term 40 acres and a mule was a proposal for reparations to former enslaved African-Americans in the aftermath of the civil war,” he added. “The proposal was intended to provide land and resources to provide land and resources to help free people achieve economic independence. This promise was ultimately broken. Happy Black His-Herstory.”
Throughout his 13-minute performance, Lamar skipped out on anthems like “Alright” in lieu of GNX track “Man at the Garden,” Damn hit “DNA,” and an unreleased song. To audiences’ delight, Lamar performed “Not Like Us,” the two-time Grammy winning victory lap around Drake. Lamar replaced the verse “certified pedophile” with a scream. It was a strategic choice, given Drake has filed a defamation and harassment lawsuit against the record label, Universal Music Group, which represents both himself and Lamar.
Rolling Stone‘s Andre Gee called Lamar’s performance, “a Spike Lee Joint in music form,” and the Oscar-winning director agrees.
