# Would rap/hip hop/KL fans explain the Superbowl halftime show to me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 10, 2025, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131 "2025-02-10T13:48:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/41 "2025-02-10T19:17:59Z")
I will state very simply that I do not care about Kendrick Lamar, or Drake, or why Serena Williams was there, and I’m not particularly interested in reading a long piece on whatever message he was supposedly getting across based on lyrics I don’t know. Not enough to go bashing it any more than the majority of halftime shows, most of which are frankly somewhere between middling and bad for a number of reasons. That said, I could see some of the pushback from football fans who do not care about any of these people as a response to the kind of “Teehee, enjoy your sports ball. Did Patrick get a home run?” type of assholes that wind up infesting online spaces (or worse, your Super Bowl party) thinking they’re being oh so subversive and clever. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/42 "2025-02-10T19:40:06Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I find it weird, to repeatedly be faced with something I just don’t understand. I try to not simply dismiss things that are unfamiliar to me. And I try to make at least some effort to understand why people seem to act differently than me. You’re never going to understand rap, or really any other topic that is foreign to you, by asking people to explain it to you. You’re going to have to put in _effort_ if you want to appreciate it. A thread like this can be a good start, but it’s all pointless if you don’t do the work to follow up. Is understanding rap and hip hop as a genre actually important to you? Then let go of comparisons to things you like, and look at it as what it is, not what it isn’t. Look up the lyrics to popular songs, read the essays on what it means and what cultural touch points it is referencing. Look up videos that discuss what makes a good rap song and dive into the mastery that a good rapper shows off. For example, here’s a rhyme map for the Notorious B.I.G.'s “Hypnotize” that shows the ridiculous complexity of the rhyming scheme. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Os7PlRZhLfo/maxresdefault.jpg "The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize - Lyrics, Rhymes Highlighted (237)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os7PlRZhLfo) Whatever you do, _don’t_ just start another thread if you aren’t going to put in any effort. Art appreciation is not something you can be told. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/43 "2025-02-10T19:43:15Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Whatever you do, _don’t_ just start another thread if you aren’t going to put in any effort. Art appreciation is not something you can be told. Oh fine, what will happen to all our Mark Rothko/Jackson Pollock threads now!? Just kidding. Very good advice. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/44 "2025-02-10T19:51:46Z")
To the OP - this is the most understandable explanation of the halftime show’s significance (and context) that I have seen > **[Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef - what's the latest after Super Bowl?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8xmkmg207o)** > > After Lamar's show, a reminder of where we are now in the big rap feud, and exactly how we got here. Not that it’s all plain sailing. Quote from Drake’s own record label, which Drake is suing in it’s role as (also) Lamar’s record label: > “Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists,” the label said. Conventionally outrageous? OK, I guess. j ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/45 "2025-02-10T20:14:28Z")
Hey, cut the OP a break. He clearly explained how his life and the hip-hop genre don’t overlap, and was speaking from frustration of being unable to understand what was so captivating to millions of others. It’s like going to a party and discovering you’re the only gay/straight/black/white person there. He wasn’t trying to lambast anybody but himself. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/46 "2025-02-10T20:21:28Z")
I want someone to put together a VH-1-style pop up video of the whole halftime show. Then, they could have little popups explaining the significance of the flag, explaining about the fight and how Lamar almost, but not quite, starts the song a few times, etc. All the time with closed captioning, because I just can’t understand what he’s saying. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/47 "2025-02-10T20:24:06Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You’re never going to understand rap, or really any other topic that is foreign to you, by asking people to explain it to you. Louis Armstrong famously said something similar about jazz. As I recall, he was asked to succinctly describe jazz, which isn’t the same thing as explaining it. If someone seemed to sincerely want to appreciate jazz, I would ask them what kind of music they liked. E.g., if they liked country, I might play them some Western swing like “San Antonio Rose”, and ask them how they felt about it. Their response would inform my next choice. I know this isn’t exactly “explaining”. But as a musician and former teacher, I know that there are concrete, objective elements to music that can help people understand and appreciate it. If it’s true that no can understand _any_ subject through explanation, then all education and training is futile. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/48 "2025-02-10T20:31:29Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Hey, cut the OP a break. Complaining about feeling out of touch is fine. But the OP asked “if anyone can explain what I’m missing.” And my point is no, people can’t explain it if he won’t put in effort. The OP feels music shouldn’t require study to appreciate. And that’s simply not true if you’re talking about a genre that is completely foreign to you. And it’s especially true of rap, where so much of the artistry comes down to understanding the lyrics and what they reference. If the OP just wants to vent, that’s totally fine. You need to really want to understand something to justify doing work. I get it - I don’t understand opera, and I have zero interest in putting in any effort to understand it. But I also don’t start threads asking people to explain it to me. > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > If it’s true that no can understand _any_ subject through explanation, then all education and training is futile. This is a good clarification that I don’t think was clear in my first post: explanation and education is a good and necessary first step. But the student needs to put in effort; it can’t be all teaching. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/49 "2025-02-10T20:37:10Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You’re never going to understand rap, or really any other topic that is foreign to you, by asking people to explain it to you. I think this is assuming that other people learn the same way you do. It seems explanation is not an effective tool for you, and that’s fine. Speaking only for myself, explanation in the form of written text is my primary form of understanding everything. Experiencing something is only helpful for me if I’ve already read about it. I’ll also note that this board is established for the exchange of written explanations. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/50 "2025-02-10T20:47:13Z")
See my comment immediately above your post. And also see the OP’s previous threads on the topic, where people have provided detailed explanations that have not yet sunk in. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/51 "2025-02-10T21:21:10Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Then he swerved again and did call out Drake and do “Not Like Us”, including having the whole crowd basically call Drake a pedophile. Is he? A pedophile? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/52 "2025-02-10T21:31:28Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Maybe there’s a clean take of the rehearsal or another venue of the same number. I always left sound to another member of my bands. But you’d think there was a direct feed into whatever was being broadcast. So I don’t see why the audio could not have been better. Isn’t as tho they were relying on some guy in the stands holding up his phone. No idea what all the electronics were that Jon Batiste had on top of his piano… > [@WildaBeast](#): > > IMO, this is at least in part a way of pushing back against the attitude from some older folks that younger folks being ignorant of bands like The Beatles is a shortcoming on their part. Yeah - not sure I get this comparison. Beatles/past/easier for anyone to understand… > [@TroutMan](#): > > You’re never going to understand rap, or really any other topic that is foreign to you, by asking people to explain it to you. You’re going to have to put in _effort_ if you want to appreciate it. I dunno. I’ve had many folk bring up artists I didn’t know, and explain to me how they were relevant to music I DID know and like, and why I would benefit from listening to them. Not sure I encountered folk saying I needed to “put in effort.” Well - with the possible exception of: > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Louis Armstrong famously said something similar about jazz. 😃 As a bassist, I often get asked if I play jazz. I know enough to know that I very much enjoy jazz lite - Sinatra, big bands, etc. But even those use chords that I suspect aren’t really real! And I know that much of the true greats - Miles, Coltrane, etc - for the most part made a lot music that does not appeal to me. Heck, even the classical music I enjoy listening to and playing tends towards the shallow end of the pool. Not grooving on any Schoenberg, for example. But I have seen Kronos Quartet. Funny, with the amount and variety of music I’ve listened to and played, I’m still an apparent lightweight. I’m not sure there is any music I “enjoy” which required me to “work hard” to enjoy it. I think the reference to non-western music is likely apt. If I did not spend so much time and effort on music, and if rap weren’t so prevalent, I’d likely just say, “Not my cup of tea,” and never think of it again. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/53 "2025-02-10T21:41:31Z")
You’re not wrong. But sometimes you want to put in the time to understand something in depth. And sometimes you want a rudimentary understanding to put stuff in approximate context or discuss the basics. There’s nothing wrong with starting a thread, even several. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/54 "2025-02-10T21:46:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I dunno. I’ve had many folk bring up artists I didn’t know, and explain to me how they were relevant to music I DID know and like, and why I would benefit from listening to them. I was probably too black-and-white in my statements. It’s not _all_ music or _all_ education that requires effort. But the more foreign it is to you, the more is needed. You relate to guitar and melodic music. You don’t care as much about lyrics. Jumping from rock to grunge, for example, provides a lot of common touch points, and you could probably easily understand the latter with a firm base in the former. Rap doesn’t have that relevance to your existing base. You’re not going to suddenly get it because someone posts a few paragraphs of explanation. You’ve previously posted about music you don’t understand, people explain it to you, and soon you’re back with a similar request. The current approach of reading posts and not doing much else isn’t working for you. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/55 "2025-02-10T21:51:18Z")
I have no idea. I know Drake is suing Lamar’s label (which is also his own, I think…) over the song. Those lawsuits were also referenced during the halftime show, and Lamar self-censored the more direct accusations in the song. ETA: I should be direct, and say there isn’t any evidence I’m aware of that he is. He just had some young (but all seemingly 18+) girlfriends. So, no, he almost certainly isn’t a pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/56 "2025-02-10T22:02:01Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > The current approach of reading posts and not doing much else isn’t working for you. Yeah - you are right. I was surprised to have posters bring up my posting history - which I had forgotten. I have listened to several rap/hip hop performances - tho not in a, “I’m going to sit down and spend a good hour or 2 on this” manner. And I have a superficial awareness of many of the bigger names - tho I could not tell one’s music from another’s. It generally impresses me as more attitude and posturing, than “music.” They seem intent on conveying some “message,” but I can’t tell what that message is. My personal preferences are when they are accompanied by “traditional” instruments. That at least gives me _something_ I can understand. The repetitiveness sorta reminds me of 80s electronic music I used to like to get wasted and dance to back in college. So maybe if I was out drinking and clubbing (sober 20 years), I might appreciate that aspect. And I looked up the lyrics to [Not Like Us](https://www.boomplay.com/lyrics/166296009#google_vignette), since it got several mentions WRT the halftime. I admit I was repeatedly unable to make it through Ulysses, even with a study guide. I have to admit that I’m not interested in looking up a study guide to interpret those lyrics. I admitted my difficulty with poetry. Not sure I’d call those lyrics poetry, but I’ll leave that to the experts. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/57 "2025-02-10T22:05:09Z")
Cluck Klosterman did an essay about rock music a decade or so ago, that emphasized his growing older and no longer being the audience anybody cared out. “All the Kids Are Right” in _Eating the Dinosaur_. > Does this understanding only serve to signify that this part of my life is supposed to be over? Is “understanding” an emotional, unserious art missing the point entirely? Maybe. But I can’t stop, even if I should. I’ll always be interested in What The Kids Are Listening To, even as that interest becomes the sonic equivalent of looking at animals inside a zoo. I see a zebra, and I know what it is. But you know what I can’t see? How zebras look to a zebra. And that, I realize, is what matters most. I like lyrics; they’re a significant part of modern pop and rock, and even more than that in rap and hip hop (or are those terms interchangeable now?) It bothers me when I can’t make them out. I heard tiramisu last night and the rest was a sonic blur. None of it will stick. Enjoyable, regardless, for the movement and choreography and feeling. Beyonce beat out Lamar for the record of the year Grammy. I thought _Cowboy Carter_ was not merely a good album, but an important one that will last. That’s almost certainly because in most of the songs she stuck to conventional melodic arrangements with lyrics that were approachable while at the same time referencing a multitude of historically important genres. I’m hardly alone in praising the album, though I have no idea how many others think along those lines. I’m never going to be the audience for rap. Doesn’t bother me. And it’s not just age. I wasn’t the audience for heavy metal 40 years ago. I just think it’s funny that my generation is now living the frustration our parents had with early rock music that they couldn’t understand and failed to connect with their ideas of beauty. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/58 "2025-02-10T22:07:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Funny, with the amount and variety of music I’ve listened to and played, I’m still an apparent lightweight. I’m not sure there is any music I “enjoy” which required me to “work hard” to enjoy it. I think the reference to non-western music is likely apt. If you’re not listening to nothing but atonal music played on improvised instruments combined with tuneless chanting and listening to it ironically you’re clearly not someone who really enjoys music. > [@Jas09](#): > > ETA: I should be direct, and say there isn’t any evidence I’m aware of that he is. He just had some young (but all seemingly 18+) girlfriends. So, no, he almost certainly isn’t a pedophile. While the whole “it’s not pedophilia, it’s ephebophilia” trend of parts of the internet in the past had its own problems, so does this trend to call any relationship with a younger person, especially women, pedophilia. It makes it harder to get an idea of what the claim actually is and how much someone who isn’t involved should care when you’ve got people on the internet claiming that an 18 year old can’t actually make any choices and that a difference of a couple years in college is somehow inherently abusive. Also, rapper beefs have to be one of the most tedious things in entertainment, right behind pro wrestling beefs. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/59 "2025-02-10T22:08:49Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > ETA: I should be direct, and say there isn’t any evidence I’m aware of that he is. He just had some young (but all seemingly 18+) girlfriends. So, no, he almost certainly isn’t a pedophile. Baselessly accusing someone of pedophilia is a pretty horrible thing to do. Look, I’m not a fan of artist feuds in general - they’re neither classy nor cool. But if you really have to insult a colleague, call them a no-talent hack or a phony or a sellout or something, don’t accuse them of a terrible made-up crime. It crosses a line. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/60 "2025-02-10T22:11:13Z")
I think the basis for the allegations (or at least one basis) is the weird texting relationships Drake has had with Millie Bobbie Brown starting when she was 13, and Billie Eilish when she was 16 or 17. He met MBB at a concert and started texting her, and she’d send him links to her Instagram pics. One of the revealed texts was from Drake when she was 14 saying “I miss you so much.” He sent messages to Billie Eilish about how big a fan he was when he was 33 and she was under 18. There’s some video of him kissing a 17-year old on stage. So maybe not a pedophile, but definitely a bit squicky. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131.md?page=4)