It's Friday and the GNX Hype is Still There: Quickie
It’s fun to watch rap superstar Kendrick Lamar wax his lyrical gymnastics, especially in front of a big crowd like a sold-out Super Bowl crowd that likely paid top dollar for a Chiefs-Eagles rematch. Knowing that the Eagles had more than a fair chance at redemption means I had other things to look forward to beside football.
Case in point, Kendrick opening the halftime show on the hood of a classic Buick Grand National GNX before dancers disperse out of the passenger doors and trunk clown-car-style. It was a real deviance from Lady Gaga dropping from the sky and Katy Perry surrounding herself with land sharks.
This wasn’t a showstopper. But any Kendrick Lamar fan knows — myself included — is that you don’t listen for the choreography. You listen for the musical prose that the man brings to the rap world that is unlike any other.
SZA making an appearance was a bonus, as she is featured in ‘Luther’, one of the songs on Lamar’s ‘GNX’ album. It was a refreshing grasp of a Super Bowl performance contrary to the anti-DEI stance of the new government.
Serena Williams can, and will, cripwalk as she pleases. SZA can be the beautiful woman in the world no matter how red her trousers are. And music will still be therapy for the soul.
And yes, that particular Buick Grand National Kendrick stood on is a prop fake and not one of the 547 genuine examples built in its lifetime. Ye of little faith, classic car heathens.
[Author’s note: Yes, I’m back from a mental health post-election recovery and have content in the works. If you want to see more, subscribe to see more in your inbox! - TA]