thank you, kendrick.

We’ve come quite a ways from Up With People.

Sunday’s Super Bowl seemed kinda “meh”, as far as the game and commercials are concerned. Fortunately the halftime show made things very interesting.

I’ll fall on my sword – I admit that I had not known much about Kendrick Lamar’s music prior to Sunday. I knew he won a Pulitzer for his lyrics, and I know he has a rift with Drake.

Not knowing what to expect, I watched as there was symbolism clearly presented for immediate effect (Samuel Jackson got my undivided attention). I became frustrated because it was hard to understand what was being said, as the audio mix actually drowned out the vocals at one point. Even with this audio issue, this was clearly a message being conveyed for America to see.

When it was over, my initial reaction was shock as the show had such a definitive ending. From a mindset of wonder, I couldn’t figure out everything I had just watched, but I knew that there would be plenty of discussion about it.

Here’s where I saw a very cool ray of light yesterday. There was healthy online dialogue about the halftime show. Not everyone was receptive to “feeling the need to be educated”, but the conversations seemed a lot calmer, and with less vitriol than one would expect.

I watched the halftime show again yesterday morning…watching it with the insight received from others made it quite an educational experience. Although nothing has topped Janet Jackson’s performance in terms of controversy, this was a performance that may be discussed for quite a while.

There was an interesting quote that really resonated with me about Sunday’s performance. This quote was directed towards music educators, who may not know how to discuss the performance with their students. In a nutshell, it said that as educators are quick to criticize what they think is non-musical, kids are losing interest in music education programs, as there’s an obvious disconnect.

As much as I could’ve had a “Get off my lawn!” reaction to the show Sunday, I appreciate the responses received to my inquiries about what Kendrick Lamar was trying to convey. Will I become a fan of his music? Probably not, but that’s because I’m not a fan of that style of music. Will I look up his lyrics to understand more about Kendrick Lamar and his message?

You betcha.