I can’t help but sit back and think how lucky we’ve been to have Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny perform the halftime shows for the past two years. Perhaps against any other historical context, these performances would’ve been a part of the long list of S-tier musicians who’ve donned the stage for the biggest sporting event in the United States. However, against the backdrop of neo-fascism being pumped day in and day out from Trump 2.0, both of these men represent something bigger than your run of the mill halftime show. 

If you’re somewhat familiar with Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny, you know that both of them are larger than life figures who have taken leadership roles at the top of the pedestal for their respective communities, even more so in the face of unspeakable conditions at the hands of the United States empire. Their international modus operandi’s are forever linked with justice for the oppressed, making them targets of the reactionary media machine. 

Here in the United States, Kendrick became a monumental figure during the 2010s in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement. His track “Alright” became a widespread protest anthem in the face of a growing number of police brutality cases. His back catalog leaves mentions of Fred Hampton, Huey Newton and Nelson Mandela as the blueprint for his message, one that is inseparable from the time in which he grew up in Compton, Calif. in the 1980s’ War on Drugs era. This experience of state subjugation shapes the ways in which he fleshes out political messaging in his music. 

Right off of the coast of the United States, Bad Bunny did the same in Puerto Rico. The United States “acquired” Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898, making the island a de facto colony of the U.S. to this very day. Bad Bunny’s music is intertwined with the indigenous experience of colonialism, seeing your home become a commodity for a larger superpower which has no genuine interest in your countries’ affairs other than profit. Bad Bunny’s music is littered with commentary on the commodification and gentrification of not only Puerto Rico, but other nations with similar histories. His track “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii,” tackles the prevailing statehood debate around his home country. Arguing that statehood hasn’t worked out well for Hawaiian analysis I agree with wholeheartedly.

Both halftimes were met with overwhelming support from the broader public however, the reactionary camp stressed that both shows weren’t for “Americans” and therefore were un-relatable to the average “American.” Which leaves us asking, what in particular about these two performances were hard for Americans to relate to? I’m not going to waste time, you know exactly where this is going. White nativism and white supremacy are key features of Trump 2.0, which sees not only Kendrick and Bad Bunny as threats, but people who look like them as well.  

I find solace in the message both artists have put forth in their respective careers. When I hear “Momma” I think of long summers spent in Worcester with my grandparents and meeting children my age at my grandmother’s daycare. Although I was young and inexperienced in the game of life, those summers shaped who I am today. “DtMF” makes me think of my grandfather, who passed on when I was 10 years old, not yet old enough to understand the great significance of our short time together. Too young to have had a phone to take pictures with him, pictures I’d give anything to have taken. 

The feelings found in the music are universal, something that should bind us together, not divide us further.