Austin’s Daily Commentary – Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show
Austin talks about the Super Bowl halftime show with Kendrick Lamar. Austin: I am no connoisseur of hip-hop or rap music, which means I cannot really be an effective critic….
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – FEBRUARY 09: Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show at Caesars Superdome on February 09, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Austin talks about the Super Bowl halftime show with Kendrick Lamar.
Austin: I am no connoisseur of hip-hop or rap music, which means I cannot really be an effective critic. You have to really know and understand what it is you are critiquing before you get into it. Can you imagine, for instance, being someone that is completely unfamiliar with ice cream and yet being asked to judge 31 different flavors of ice cream? It'd be very difficult to do. Or opera.
That's probably a better example. You don't know anything about opera, but you're plucked down in the middle of an opera showcase and asked to give your impressions of each performance. Folks, I'm lost when it comes to rap and hip-hop. However, I will say this. I do know what's catchy, and I know what's pleasing to the ear.
And every now and then, I'll hear something from Snoop Dogg or some other, rap artist that, for whatever reason, I seem to not have too many objections to. And I can understand what they're saying, and I can appreciate the rhythms. I couldn't do any of that with Kendrick Lamar the other night, but, again, it's not about me.
However, I do think I'm a pretty good representative of most of the audience last night that is over the age of 30 anyway, or let me back up, over the age of 40 anyway. But at the same time, if the man's got a political message, if the man has a social message to share, he should be speaking in plain terms.
No dog whistles. I get accused of that all the time, and that's the silliest thing in the world. I'm the most unsettled human being there is. I don't believe in dog whistles. So if Kendrick Lamar is trying to hide some socially relevant message in his music, he needs to hide it a little less effectively.
Oh, and one final thing. If you had a beef with an individual, take it up with them in the street, not during the halftime show of the Super Bowl. Whatever gripe he has against Drake, get a room for Pete's sake. Let's not play it out on national television. What a bizarre evening.
Oh, well. At least the game was fun. And that's the comment. I'm Austin Rhodes. 95.1 FM News Talk, WGAC.
