Afflict The Comfortable

The Kendrick Lamar halftime show reminded me of the importance of authenticity. Going into it, I expected a lot of compromises. I expected him to lean into his biggest hits and more melodic songs. Instead, he did the most authentic performance I've ever seen.

It was political. It was hip-hop. It was Black.

That's been my favourite thing to see in Kendrick this past year. He's been himself and hasn't shied away from it for convenience or to be accepted.

The way artists approach their careers is particular interesting to me. Many chase trends or what worked for them in the past. But the greatest artists seem to have an unwavering sense of their direction and an unwillingness to make compromises. They have a strong sense of integrity in their craft and will zig when expected to zag.

Kendrick has always done this throughout his career. His first major album was a huge success, but he followed that up with a jazz and funk album with no attempts at hit songs.

Traditionally, these Super Bowl performances are about nostalgia. Artists perform their biggest hits that everyone can sing along to. Kendrick didn't. He performed mainly songs released in the last year with dense raps and few melodies.

And he topped it all off with interludes from Samuel L. Jackson playing Uncle Sam advising Kendrick to be calm and less ghetto and do what America wants. It's all very meta.

It would've been easy to do what was expected and please the masses. But no matter what he did, it would've been negatively viewed by the same people. Respectability politics never work. So why not be authentic and preserve your self-respect?

Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

So many times, you're presented with opportunities that require compromising yourself and your values but leave you feeling lesser as a result. It can be easy to silence your beliefs to keep everyone comfortable. To not be seen as preachy or "virtue signalling". But your virtues are who you are; you should put them on full display.

Stand for something or die in the morning.