\n
I fell in love with hip-hop in the fall of 1980, thanks to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. By 1992, I was fully immersed in the music business, founding the not-for-profit advocacy organization, Rap Coalition. Over the past 33 years, I\u2019ve negotiated some of the most significant deals in rap history, and helped build many millionaires in this business. I take immense pride in that.<\/p>\n
What I don\u2019t take pride in, however, is the continued backlash against rap music\u2013despite its importance for the past 50 or so years. Rap And R&B have dominated consumption and culture for years, since overtaking rock in 2017 as the most-consumed genre of music. That\u2019s eight consecutive years at the top.<\/p>\n
Yet, the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Kendrick Lamar made it clearer than ever that America still struggles to accept rap as entertainment. The sheer volume of criticism\u2013turning a 13-minute performance into a weeklong news cycle and endless social media debates\u2013was staggering. Instead of simply acknowledging that millions enjoyed the show, people felt the need to broadcast their entitlement and dissatisfaction, as if the halftime performance should cater exclusively to them.<\/p>\n
I won\u2019t immediately label this reaction as racism because I don\u2019t believe the majority of Americans are the type of bigots who would put their house on the market if a nonwhite family moved in next door. Nor do I think most believe Black people deserve less. But what do we call this persistent resistance to embracing a genre of predominantly Black music that has shaped and defined modern music and popular culture?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not talking about those who simply don\u2019t like Kendrick Lamar\u2019s music or didn\u2019t enjoy the show. I\u2019m talking about those who questioned his right to be on that stage at all. For those people, let me introduce you to Kendrick Lamar. He has:<\/p>\n
\u2022 22 Grammy Awards (third-most among rappers)<\/p>\n
\u2022 A Pulitzer Prize (the first rapper ever awarded)<\/p>\n
\u2022 A Primetime Emmy Award<\/p>\n
\u2022 A Brit Award, 4 American Music Awards, 7 Billboard Music Awards, 11 MTV VMAs (including 2 Video of the Year wins), and a record 37 BET Hip Hop Awards<\/p>\n
Yet, some still had the audacity to ask, Who is he? Why was he chosen?\u2013as if his accolades and cultural impact weren\u2019t enough. You have no access to Google? And, of course, media pundits eagerly amplified this ignorance. When did we become so self-absorbed that we dismiss anything that doesn\u2019t cater directly to us?<\/p>\n
For generations, people of color have been forced to navigate a world that wasn\u2019t built for them. From beauty standards to job opportunities to choice of housing to policing to the justice system to even getting a damn taxi in New York City, the message has been clear: You don\u2019t belong. And despite all the rhetoric about fairness and equality, that sentiment still shifts when people of color excel.<\/p>\n
We give participation trophies to kids just for showing up to a competition, but suddenly, the playing field must tilt when highly qualified Black professionals earn their place. Why? Why can\u2019t Kendrick Lamar\u2013a globally celebrated artist\u2013have 13 minutes on the biggest stage in entertainment? He had the biggest song of 2024 and had just won five Grammys a few days prior, including Song of the Year. Like it or not, those accolades are real.<\/p>\n
The numbers speak for themselves. According to Billboard:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Three of Kendrick\u2019s albums shot into the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 after his performance:<\/p>\n
\u2022 GNX<\/em> moved from #4 to #1<\/p>\n\u2022 DAMN.<\/em> (2017) jumped from #29 to #9<\/p>\n\u2022 good kid, m.A.A.d city<\/em> (2012) climbed from #27 to #10<\/p>\n\u2022 First rapper in history to have three albums simultaneously in the Top 10. The last artist to achieve this? Taylor Swift (Dec 2023). The last male artist to do it? Prince\u2013after his death in 2016. But he had to die to achieve it. The last living male artist? Herb Alpert in 1966.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kendrick is also the first Super Bowl halftime performer since 2018 to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 after the show.<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t just him. His halftime show collaborator SZA also saw her album SOS<\/em> climb to #2, making this the first time in history that two Super Bowl halftime performers held the top two spots on the Billboard 200 immediately after the game.<\/p>\nThe audience wasn\u2019t just there for the game. The 2025 Super Bowl set a record-breaking viewership of 134 million people\u2013making it the most-watched TV event of all time in our country, surpassing even the Apollo 11 moon landing.<\/p>\n
John Dick of market research firm Civic Science put it best:<\/p>\n
\u201cNo amount of head injuries, <\/em>anthem-kneeling, rule changes, officiating scandals, or dynastic teams have slowed the NFL\u2019s dominance. They can do no wrong. Even the backlash over Kendrick Lamar\u2019s halftime show proves the point. At a time when our President dominates every news cycle, a 20-minute rap performance commanded two full days of media attention. It\u2019s almost as if riling up millions of (mostly white) Gen Xers and Boomers was deliberate\u2013because, let\u2019s be honest, they\u2019re going to keep watching no matter what. Meanwhile, younger, multicultural audiences, still developing lifelong NFL fandom, had an extra reason to tune in. It was strategic, targeted, and brilliant marketing at its best.\u201d<\/p>\nMake no mistake\u2013the NFL knows exactly what it\u2019s doing. It doesn\u2019t matter how many rap critics complain. It doesn\u2019t matter how much the media amplifies the noise. Nothing else comes close to the NFL\u2019s dominance.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just tired of listening to entitled, opinionated windbags complain about rap music while flaunting their ignorance like a badge of honor. It\u2019s embarrassing. It\u2019s deplorable. And most of all? It\u2019s a losing battle.<\/p>\n
Because rap isn\u2019t just part of the culture. It is the culture.<\/p>\n
Wendy Day<\/p>\n
Founder, Rap Coalition<\/p>\n
CEO, PowerMoves<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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