High off his recent Grammy sweep, the Compton-born rapper took the stage in bootcut jeans that the internet can’t shut up about.

Drake is in my thoughts and prayers this morning after watching Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. Ever since he and Kendrick started their rap beef back in March 2024 he’s taken L after L after L. Longest funeral ever, sorry Drake. As a longtime Kendrick fan, I’ve been looking forward to seeing his Super Bowl performance, which took place last night (February 9th) at Ceasar Superdome in New Orleans.

Let me be clear: This isn’t a sports magazine, so I’m not going to get into anything actually football-related. If we’re looking for that I suggest checking out literally any other magazine. The only thing I can tell you about the game is that the Eagles won and the Chiefs looked defeated like 30 minutes in. But I digress.

Before we jump into talking about the halftime performance I want to first highlight 26-year-old Tahj Williams, who made NFL history as the first artist to handcraft the Super Bowl logo and theme art. Tahj “Queen Tahj” Williams, is a New Orleans artist, and a member of the Golden Eagles Tribe, who is renowned for her expressive Black Masking technique, an art form which is deeply rooted in the centuries-old Indigenous and African heritage of New Orleans.

Her work was featured on everything from the digital game tickets, the official Super Bowl LIX program cover, and the exterior of the Hyatt Regency New Orleans—the young Queen’s designs were all over the 2025 Super Bowl. As someone who tunes into the Super Bowl for its cultural impact rather than to actually watch the game, I couldn’t stop gushing to my friends about how beautiful the theme art was. Williams definitely gained a new fan and I’m excited to see what she gets up to next!

Anyway, let’s get into it. I have a lot to say about Kendrick’s Super Bowl halftime show. Aside from the Drake of it all. After securing some Grammy wins for his Drake diss track “Not Like Us”, his victory lap continued last night with a performance that was full of US symbolism, celebrity cameos, and even a protest.

First, you have to love how petty Kendrick is. He had both SZA and Serena Williams up on stage with him, both of whom are exes of Drake. I can confidently say Drake started crying the minute Serena Williams popped up on screen. And honestly, I get it, I would be crying too.

A lot of people on focusing on the Drake of it all, but his show made quite a political statement, which I knew he would. Lamar often takes big performances like this to address hot-topic issues and telegraph his own political anxieties. I predicted his approach for this show would be a bit more muted considering the crowd (cough cough Donald Trump). After his opening song “GNX (Teaser)” Lamar gave the crowd a teaser of what to expect, saying “The revolution ‘bout to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy,” letting the crowd know where his performance was headed.

Although the symbolism was more lowkey than some were hoping for, he did gesture toward politics. Legendary actor Samual L. Jackson opened the show as an “Uncle Sam” character who showed up several times throughout the show, acting as an emcee and perhaps Lamar’s corporate conscience. The dancers were all clad in red, white, and blue sweatsuits—hello America—as they slid up and down the field and at one point used their bodies to mimic the American flag.

However, the one thing no one can shut up about is Kendrick’s fit. Styled by Taylor McNeill, Kendrick was rocking a custom jacket by Martine Rose, Nike Air DT Max ‘96s, a Rahaminov brooch worth $68,000, and a big lowercase “a” chain (A MINOR?!?!?!?). But what really stole the show was his jeans. He stormed the stage in a pair of Celine's low-waisted, loose-fitting bootcut jeans that pooled around his ankles. “Kendrick has boot cut jeans, a 5’5 frame, and a hater mentality and I respect that,” says @littledivaalert on Twitter (again, I will never call it X). And you know what diva, same.

The Internet is going crazy for them, and I think it’s safe to say bootcut jeans are so back.

However, we all know they aren’t the most convenient pair of pants, but we’re willing to endure the struggles to ensure we look good:

Overall, Kendrick’s performance was entertaining while not shying away from political commentary completely, making it a win in my book (even though I still wish he would have added “This Is America” to the setlist). The only thing that would have made it better is if he brought this queen out.