'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUI/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAAz9EF/8QAHxAAAwABAwUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAARIQUGElFx/9oACAEBAAE/AL9Plg9u4d740rVzJ0uKK53ns3gikfVY8e9DKogChE2HGv/EABQRAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/2gAIAQIBAT8Af//EABYRAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAIf/aAAgBAwEBPwBxS//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Radio personality and broadcaster Ebro Darden recently shared his thoughts on Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show, examining the performance and its connection to Drake. To provide context, Lamar's 13-minute set during the Super Bowl halftime on February 9 featured a medley of old and new songs, including his diss track aimed at Drake, Not Like Us.
During the February 11 episode of the Ebro in the Morning Podcast on Hot 97, Ebro and his fellow panelists analyzed the meaning behind Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance. Ebro praised the performance, dissuading the notion that the show was solely about Drake, a popular social media narrative that emerged after Lamar's show.
The podcaster added that the Canadian rapper was "just a proxy," a sentiment Rosenberg, his fellow panelist, agreed with. The latter added that Kendrick Lamar's performance appeared to comment on America's perception of "right and white America towards Black America."
Trending
Ebro responded by suggesting that the performance could carry multiple meanings, claiming that Drake became a focal point during the performance because he was a "sickness in the game."
Meet a little girl with a big heart RIGHT HERE
"It has more than one meaning for sure, but, once again, going back to the whole thing, did it get personal? Yes. Was it specifically between Kendrick and Drake? Yes. Drake is not that important. The reason Drake is in this is because he is a sickness in the game. It could have been any artist. It's what Drake represents," Ebro said.
"We've been saying this for months. People love Drake, they love his music, we love his music, he's beloved. He's not willing to go rip his soul from the bottom and do ayahuasca and look himself in the mirror as Kendrick had prescribed to him... It's about what the game does to someone who's trying to dominate it. That's the moral of the story."
Ebro drew comparisons between Kendrick Lamar and Drake's career choices
In his latest podcast episode, Ebro compared Kendrick Lamar and Drake's career trajectories, examining both rappers' choices. He claimed that Drake was a "sickness" in the rap game because he allegedly chased charts and numbers.
Ebro also accused Drake of attempting to "dominate" the industry by involving himself in many genres, such as R&B, pop, and hip-hop, to maintain his position at the top. The podcaster compared this to Kendrick Lamar's commitment to staying true to himself and his artistry by concentrating on hip-hop.
"Drake has decided to play the game in a way where he went from the suburban kids who lived with his mom and all of a sudden now you've got mob ties and bullet holes in your sweatshirt with smoke coming out the back. Where Kendrick was trying to be more true to his origins and what is important to him," he said.
"What was important to Drake was the money, chart dominance, you know, co-opting other styles into his style. That was his thing and he was very successful at it and that came with a price tag. Versus the other guy who also had a price tag with the route he chose."
Ebro concluded the discussion by stating that Kendrick Lamar and Drake's careers were a "representation of the choices" they made. Another panelist remarked that it was about "dark versus light," but who embodies the "dark" and who symbolizes the "light" varies based on perspective.
As a final remark, Ebro said that Kendrick Lamar chose a more "difficult" and "dangerous" route by not performing his hit songs during his Super Bowl performance. The Compton rapper's Super Bowl set list featured several tracks from his latest album, GNX, along with two songs, Humble and DNA, from his Pulitzer Prize-winning album, DAMN.
In other news, Kendrick Lamar's halftime show earned the title of the most-watched Super Bowl performance after Roc Nation revealed it drew over 133.5 million viewers.
With this number, Kendrick Lamar dethroned Michael Jackson, who previously held the record after his 1993 Super Bowl halftime performance garnered 133.4 million viewers.
