# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/101 "2025-02-11T22:13:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I think one thing white people have a hard time understanding is how it feels to spend your whole life watching art that is _not for you_ by people who are _not like you_. But that’s nonsense. Hip-hop is the single most popular genre of music today. It’s inescapable. Maybe that was a little true in the past, but even then, not really–Black music has long had a massively outsized influence on American music, at least back to the jazz era. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/102 "2025-02-11T22:15:47Z")
Doesn’t any unfamiliar style of music sound strange and off-putting, at least at first? The OP has mentioned that he detests opera. I happen to love opera, but I know that’s largely because my parents played it all the time when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/103 "2025-02-11T22:19:59Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > If you watch a nicely produced, nicely summarized doc about hip hop you STILL might not like it but you will have a better understanding of it all and can have more enlightened discussions about it. I can highly recommend the Netflix series Hip Hop Evolution. It’s well made and takes you through a bunch of hip hop genres in roughly chronological order. It has some fantastic interviews too with people who were there right at the beginning. ---
**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 11, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/104 "2025-02-11T22:22:36Z")
Between movement, weird camera angles and always holding the microphone in his right hand, it took me some time just to read GLORIA on the varsity jacket. First I thought it said LOBO. Then LOBLA. Like the grocery chain Drake shops at? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/105 "2025-02-11T23:13:01Z")
Yeah I recommended this one earlier in the thread. Seems like he doesn’t have Netflix. Not sure he’s willing to subscribe for a couple months to watch it. So if you have any other recs you should share them. Or a book. Or a podcast. I don’t know any off the top of my head. I still say it needs to be a genre-encompassing work and not focused on one artist, album or style. ---
**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 11, 2025, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/106 "2025-02-11T23:15:51Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > COuldn’t get past them damned oxen of the sun. In fairness, that’s the most difficult of eighteen chapters, with Proteus maybe a close second. Getting that far is an achievement, but no point in sticking with it if it leaves you cold. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/107 "2025-02-11T23:55:15Z")
Oh I missed that. Sorry [Something From Nothing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_from_Nothing:_The_Art_of_Rap) is not the same but also pretty good. It’s available on many streaming services. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/108 "2025-02-12T02:57:50Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > First time I have logged into the SDMB in a long while, sure, why don’t I wade into a thread on hip hop…ho boy. Thank you so much for logging in to post this. You’ve explained more and made mores sense than all (three!) of the mainstream media articles I’ve read about the halftime show. Those articles read like, “let me explain the halftime show: first he played this one song, then he played this other song, and there were people dancing. This was a comment on the world today.” Uh, thanks, I kinda figured out that part… Just mentioning that context is a key factor is more than I had before. So to continue the analogy bouncing around this thread, I don’t need a 100,000 word explanation of every reference and detail in _Ulysses_, but a 500 or 1000 word explanation about what Joyce was saying and why it’s a classic is all I want. No, I’m not going to get any appreciation for the artistry, but that’s not what I want out of it. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/109 "2025-02-12T12:24:44Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Doesn’t any unfamiliar style of music sound strange and off-putting, at least at first? The OP has mentioned that he detests opera. I happen to love opera, but I know that’s largely because my parents played it all the time when I was a kid. For me that isn’t the case. Every once in a while, when I’m in the mood for novelty, I’ll listen to a style of music that’s new to me. Or maybe I’ll just hear something that’s being played while I’m out and about, or something that my wife or daughter want to listen to, and so on. Every once in a while I’ll run across something that instantly clicks with me as being enjoyable. When I first listened to J-pop that happened. Same thing with bachata when my wife introduced me to it back when we were dating. I’d go so far as to say that the large majority of music that I like is music that just clicked with me the first time I heard it. Admittedly that happened more often when I was younger, but even now at 47 it still happens on occasion. ---
**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 12, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/110 "2025-02-12T12:27:37Z")
You comparing KL to jazz is interesting to me, because I was in a jazz combo for a while and appreciated the complexity and philosophy behind how it was played. Classical musicians have to devote themselves to constant training and research to master the genre, but Delta Blues musicians didn’t have that level of education to master theirs. They lived it. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/111 "2025-02-12T14:14:37Z")
He, at some point years ago, dated a teenager while in his 20s. Slow danced with and expressed attraction to a 17-year-old at one of his concerts. And Millie Bobby Brown said they texted each other in her early teens and he gave her boy advice. That’s pretty much it, as far as evidence goes. He may have some ephebophilic tendencies, but 99% of his known relationships are with grown, age-appropriate women (e.g. Serena). In a world where there’s _way_ more smoke and fire around _way_ more people with _way_ stronger evidence, singling him out only works because he’s not well-liked. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/112 "2025-02-12T14:24:40Z")
I didn’t even watch it. I switched over to the Tennis Channel for 20 minutes or so. LOL ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/113 "2025-02-12T15:26:39Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Overall, the songs impress me as pretty repetitive. As a fellow aficionado of old time I had to smile at this a little bit. How many times has my left hand gone numb playing the same two goddamn chords over and over at a square dance? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/114 "2025-02-12T16:07:00Z")
Try playing cello on Pachelbel’s Canon in D sometime. ---
**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 12, 2025, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/115 "2025-02-12T16:32:47Z")
Your explanation is very interesting and cogent. You might not have the time or inclination to do a lyrical analysis. But if you did, I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/116 "2025-02-12T18:33:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Try playing cello on Pachelbel’s Canon in D sometime. I’ve seen that video. ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/117 "2025-02-12T18:41:56Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > 1. I would not have started you with Damn unless you had context. It’s not a good starting point. Good Kid m.A.A.d city is a concept album with an extremely clear narrative and accessible music. To Pimp a Butterfly is closer to Jazz with spoken word poetry attached. Both would be a better place to start than Damn because they are very different from MOST modern hip hop in that they are easily understood on their own. Which brings me to This is a great point! I try to avoid recommending anything that requires extra background research. I usually start folks out with artists that either employ a more traditional storytelling style to their music or I’ll suggest something more melodic to make the transition less jarring. Tiny Desk Concerts are also a great entry point for folks that are curious about Rap and Hip Hop artists. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/118 "2025-02-12T19:03:47Z")
> [@Frosted\_Glass](#): > > Tiny Desk Concerts are also a great entry point for folks that are curious about Rap and Hip Hop artists. YES! Great call [Playlist of their hip hop concerts](https://www.npr.org/series/1191106092/hip-hop-50-rap-at-the-tiny-desk) Vince Staples Run the Jewels Freddie Gibbs Flatbush Zombies Lots more worth a listen but those are good starts ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/119 "2025-02-12T19:05:47Z")
> [@Frosted\_Glass](#): > > I try to avoid recommending anything that requires extra background research. This is definitely a good point. Along similar lines — many years ago, for a film-nerd website, I wrote a multi-article series, many thousands of words, explaining the “Westerns” genre and providing guidance for understanding and appreciating it, including recommended viewing. _The Searchers_ was not the first movie to watch. It wasn’t even the twentieth. It was _deep_ in the canon. “Watch the best thing right away!” is definitely a mistake aficionados make when trying to indoctrinate newcomers in their favorite media. Start _simple._ ---
**Author:** ![Frosted\_Glass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frosted_glass/32/3926_2.png) [@Frosted\_Glass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frosted_Glass)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131/120 "2025-02-12T19:30:00Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > How did you learn the lyrics? From repeated listening? Looking them up? Like I said, I never really looked up or tried to interpret the lyrics of - say - Bob Dylan. If a song was catchy enough that I listened it enough and sang along with it, I may have learned some/all of the lyrics. Buy not likely if they were not uttered intelligibly. Currently, I learn lyrics mostly by listening. I primarily listen to music when I’m out for a walk or a run but I also listen at home when I’m cleaning or cooking. Spotify and Pandora can show lyrics right on the display when they’re available. As an elder millennial I often have to remind myself that I can easily perform a lyrics search, but this approach was unreliable and clunky in the early days of the Internet so we tended to rely on inserts and good old fashioned listen and write it out. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > I am quite ignorant as to the divisions w/in rap/hip hop. I generally think it of limited value to overly parse broad genres. Was recently in a discussion WRT supposed subdivisions of psychobilly… And folk often ask my band what we play - but there is little answer other than to describe the instruments we play, list some covers, and say we play music we like. I’m going to try to keep this as brief as possible, but there are definitely regional differences that will impact your enjoyment and understanding of the genre. I grew up in NJ but my family used to spend most of our summers with relatives in South Carolina. From my earliest years I remember bouncing around between my siblings’ rooms as they packed and worked on radio mix tapes for our cousins. All of the content was from artists in NY and NJ. When we got to South Carolina we would trade them with our cousins for southern artists from Atlanta, Miami, Memphis, and Louisiana. My eldest sister was living in Oakland and she always brought music from the East Bay (and LA to a lesser extent) when she joined us. We’d get music from our mid-west cousins during our less frequent, but still regular, trips out to St. Louis to visit the other half of our family. I attended a PWI (Predominantly White Institution) so our numbers weren’t impressive (~150 out of ~5000 undergrad), but we all brought regional and international rap and hip hop to parties. I was in school in the early 2000s so we had many options for downloading and sharing music. Most of us knew all of the popular LA and NYC artists along with some of chart-topping rappers from the south and mid-west. Most of us didn’t hear much outside of our region on the radio (or TV) unless the artist managed to break into the mainstream. College was the first time I ever heard any song that was [Chopped and Screwed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopped_and_screwed), but they had been going strong in Texas for at least a decade by that point. It was jarring for all of us from the NY metro area because we didn’t really have anything comparable. Likewise I remember a lot of confused faces when the DJ would mix in some [Jersey Club](https://ra.co/features/2268) music but all of us NJ kids were out there on the dance floor having a blast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-rap-hip-hop-kl-fans-explain-the-superbowl-halftime-show-to-me/1014131.md?page=7)