On February 9, 2025, Kendrick Lamar describes the Apple Music Super Bowl 2025 -half -time show in Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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In the times between his sweep on the Grammys and a performance of the Super Bowl Lix Halime Show, journalists, hip-hop heads, music lovers and football fans were wondering: What will wear Kendrick Lamar?

A reddit user proposed purple, perhaps as a unit under California gangbanger Or the American public. Also asked the query, but offered no insiders and easily noticed “Kendrick Lamar all the time used fashion to send a message. “”

In the first Super Bowl -half -time teaser in September, Lamar was sitting in front of a massive American flag for others (and another ventilation In-stage contrast). In this video Lamar invited us to affix him half. “Wear your best dressed, even if you happen to watch from home,” he said.

On Sunday evening, after expecting what he could say, carrying and performing, Lamar put a show that it is worth a “best dressed“Place.

How Kendrick Lamar appeared for the half -time show Super Bowl Lix Lix

The pre-show outfit confirmed the contribution of the Redditor and walked through the Apple Music Hype video in a royal purple shirt under a blue varsity jacket. The purple topic was carried out on the status of the announcer, where everyone wore a purple on a tie or a pocket square.

The show was opened with Lamar, which crouched near the same make and style vehicle on his GNX cover and illuminated it alone under a light spotlight. A few moments in the dancers made of red, white and blue dancers jumped out of the car and stopped in their respective colors in the first representation of contrasting elements almost from head to toe.

The outstanding fashion moments: his bling and this coat. The Varsity leather jacket, with “Gloria”, the front, can represent the often debated figure of Gnx. The outer clothing, which was soaked in red, white and blue, was developed by the British designer Martine Rose for his performance.

The stage design added its clothing and interacted with the visual and thematic elements of performance, which were richly referred to and were committed by color and texture. His outfits reflected his essence and involved a larger dialogue about Los Angeles and the topics that were examined in his music and arts.

And his decisions told a story of contrasts.

How Kendrick Lamar Culture and High Fashion combined

If Lamar says “best dressed”, this could mean an outfit that rich in importance or handmade haute couture is the jacket and the creative partner Dave Free, who was celebrated in a quiet study of craftsmanship. talks through a single button.

We know from the performance, Lamar mixed the best of both.

Asked how he defines beauty, said Lamar: “For me ,, Beauty is the yin and yang of civilization and glory”Hot his preference for the discomfort of the contrast and the friction that arise when two opposing forces take the same space. His art smoothes no tension; It thrives in it. The Drake beef said everything.

Lamars 2023 Production for a Louis Vuitton men's show was another study in side by side, in which fashion met the cultural traditions of the HBCU marching bands. The show, on the other hand, was a master class. Uniforms – stiff and structured – met the loose, explosive performance of the performance. A trunk pulse of a drumline made the tender cord space when Chanel slid down the runway.

Lamar lives in this type of interaction. His Super Bowl half -time show was no different. In contrast, the style, the sound and the graphics have created another study-a hip-hop headliner during a super bowl, the dungarees, luxurious leather and expensive jewelry are red, white and blue.

How Kendrick Lamar used side by side and contrast

Kendrick Lamar has a gift for contrast and deep connections between the opposing forces. He does not dissolve the tension; He strengthens it and turns into his own artistic language.

In music, he combines the opposite dynamic to uncover deeper truths, as can be seen in the “buried full of life interlude”, an early collaboration with Drake. Both artists reflected each other the sound and style of the other and drew comparisons and used different texts to underline their differences.

Other paradoxes have been written and discussed online, usually in relation to the “Damn” album, the production itself, which represents this side by side.

The biggest question that was asked in group chats, in comments and in traditional media: will he or not the notorious Diss track “not like us”, “not how we?”

He did it and blocked his eyes with the camera in important moments, full of joke. Lamar's setlist also contained fan favorites like Humble., Dispute and euphoria.

“Too loud, too ruthless, to ghetto,” commented Uncle Sam, played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Side by side is common in art and Lamar explains it professionally. That makes Lamar distinctive. His decisions are deliberately and more often depending on one another. He not only mixes high and low, Streetwear and luxury. He uses contrast to inform stories and commands with easy, easy -to -understand decisions.

His decisions are subtle, but loaded and typically not nearly aesthetics. They have an effect and are accessible to everyone, no matter whether or not they are a fan, whether or not they followed the Saga, whether or not they are fashionable, whether or not they appreciate the symbolism or whether or not they have only seen the Super Bowl for football.

In September 2024 NFL AD Kendrick Lamar as a half -time artist at Super Bowl 59The 37-year-old rapper stands in front of a colossal American flag and feeds footballs in a machine that starts the balls for broad recipients.

“Will you pull up? I hope it, ”he says, and puts his upcoming appearance One of the largest phases on this planetWhere the cultural missions could be as high because the sporty. “Wear your best dress, even for those who watch from home.”

The casual but impressive scene was the classic Kendrick.

As a world-famous Grammy and Pulitzer Prize excellent artistLamar is in its own league. His unshakable criticisms of racist injustice, systemic inequality and exploitation of black culture have made him a cross -border artist and cultural visionary.

My work examines how breed and racism are constructed, represented and challenged in mass media. Especially in news, music and sport. I believe the complicated history of the NFL with social justice makes participation much more essential.

Since a discography is expansive enough to deepen the temporal restrictions of the Sunday game, I’m excited to see whether Lamar will interweave his lyrical masterpieces for a performance that maintains the viewers.

Sports, politics and counter -reactions

Sport has at all times been politicalDespite the persistent calls to maintain politics away from sport.

The tradition of playing the National anthem Before Sporting event is just an example: the song is rooted in war sizes and serves as a call to patriotism.

Then there are unsightened protests by players and fans. Whenever skilled athletes come into the strikeIt is political. When fans develop banners It is political to support the Palestinians.

Out of Tommie Smith and John Carlos' fist understanding At the 1968 Olympic Games in solidarity with black communities through the civil rights movement Muhammad Ali's refusal to fight within the Vietnam WarTo Colin Kaepernick's knees to protest against the brutality of the policeAthletes have long used their platforms to query injustices and to query norms.

However, protests often lead against setbacks, and the NFL by accident tried to speeches political speeches.

Kaepernick's protests triggered a national debate concerning the ideas of patriotism and the adequacy of the protest on the sphere. At the identical time NFL owner seemed effectively to place it on the black list From the league.

Nick Bosa, a defensive end with the 49s, was taken for a nice Violation of a rule that prohibit players From wearing clothes that convey “personal news” when he his six is ​​worn During a postgame interview in 2024. In the meantime, NFL owners have the NFL owners donated hundreds of thousands of presidential campaignsWith most of those contributions too Republican candidates.

An artist and activist

The Super Bowl half -time show has long been greater than only a musical interlude. It's a stage where cultural and political currents come together.

While Beyoncés appear 2016 In addition to the headliner Bruno Mars, she paid homage to the Black Panthers, Malcolm X and the Black Lives Matt movement. U2S act During the 2002 Super Bowl, a moment of collective grief and hope for a rustic offered a rustic that was still tumbling from the terrorist attacks on September eleventh. In recent times, Dr. Dre's 2022 service celebrated Hip-hop climb From a marginalized genre to a dominant cultural force. Eminem, who also participated on this service, put a knee on the stage to criticize the treatment of black athletes and activists through the NFL.

For me, Lamar's Super Bowl symbols a broader settlement with how the NFL deals with the strain between politics and company entertainment.

This is because Kendrick Lamar's art is greater than just music. It's activism.

From his Grammy price-crowned album “To secure a butterfly“To the raw, introspective, album awarded with the Pulitzer Prize” “DAMNED.“Lamar consistently confronted with topics of systemic oppression, racist injustice and black life in America.

Tracks like “DNA.”Are unapologist celebrations of blackness and generation resilience:

 I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA
 Quarter piece, got war and peace inside my DNA
 I got power, poison, pain and joy inside my DNA
 I got hustle, though, ambition flow inside my DNA

“The blackish berry”Deals with the complexity of black identity and the confronted systemic racism:

  I said they treat me like a slave, cah me Black
  Woi, we feel whole heap of pain cah we Black
  And man a say they put me inna chains cah we Black

And “XXX.”Confronts greed, violence and hypocrisy within the core of American life.

  Hail Mary, Jesus and Joseph
  The great American flag
  Is wrapped and dragged with explosives
  Compulsive disorder, little kids
  Barricaded blocks and borders, look what you taught us
  It's murder on my street
  Your street, back streets, Wall Street

In contrast to many mainstream artists, Lamar seems to have mastered the sensitive balance between business success and politically charged content. His genius lies in his ability to put in writing songs This transcends breed, gender and sophistication.

At a time when the nation deals with efforts Reduction of diversity, justice and inclusion practicesPresent And as an organization power It stays deactivated, conversations about breed and inequality remain within the foreground.

Lamar has never hesitated to confront unpleasant truths through his music. He has a novel opportunity to merge art, activism and a criticism of the nation. I assume that this moment won’t be an exception.

Will you pull up I’ll.

Most children who’ve incurred the wrath of their parents are threatened with a lump of coal of their stockings at Christmas.

For Patriots wideout Kendrick Bourne, it was… a trash can?

“I have a funny one. My parents gave me and my brothers a trash can for Christmas. That was the worst,” Bourne told MassLive's Nick O'Malley about an unforgettable gift. “We needed it, though. We actually needed it for our room. So it was good.”

“Did your parents have a heart? That’s the next question,” one other reporter asked the veteran.

“Hardly,” replied Bourne. “We had to clean our room. I think they sent us a signal. It was the best gift, a gift we needed. But probably the worst gift at the same time.”

Bourne added that the gift didn’t include any extras or perks – comparable to gifts being put within the bin.

As blunt as his gift for criticizing the state of his bedroom was, Bourne still sees it as a fond memory – one which transcends the standard clichés of gifts like cleats, jerseys and other football gear.

“Crazy childhood,” Bourne said, laughing. “I love my parents. Shout out loud – Hello, Mom and Dad. I love you.”

Several of Bourne's teammates gave fairly standard answers when asked about gifts during the holidays.

“The best Christmas present I ever received? “Oh man, this is tough,” Hunter Henry said. “When I was young, I was a big jersey guy. I remember standing up and getting a Shaquille O'Neal jersey when I was young, when I was a huge basketball fan. I just remember being excited about the Shaquille O’Neal jersey.”

“Unlike Hunter, I would probably say probably an electric motorcycle,” Drake Maye added. “I got an electric motorcycle that I rode around the neighborhood.”

Conor Ryan is a staff author covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a job he has held since 2023.

There appears to be no sympathy between former Celtics teammates Brian Scalabrine and Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins, who was an outspoken critic of the Celtics for several years during his time as an on-air host at ESPN, could also be considered persona non grata in Boston as of late.

At least that's what Scalabrine said on his SiriusXM radio show when asked why Perkins was not a part of the Celtics who won the previous NBA title in 2008 and took part within the parade through Boston on Friday to have a good time their team's 18th title.

While the 2023-24 Celtics headlined Friday's festivities, former 2007-08 champions Paul Pierce, Eddie House, Scalabrine and Leon Powe were also featured on an amphibious vehicle.

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” Scalabrine said when asked if Perkins was invited to the Celtics' recent championship celebrations. “Big scarlet letter. … Kendrick Perkins is not exactly a welcoming place with open arms.”

It didn’t take long for Perkins to react. The former Celtics center asked Scalabrine to during an appearance on “Felger & Mazz” on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Monday afternoon.

“Right now, I feel like Scal is a coward,” Perkins said. “Was I the only member of 2008 missing from the amphibious vehicle? No, I wasn't. (Eddie) House, my friend, was there. Leon Powe, a good friend of mine, was there too.”

“Scal was there and Paul (Pierce) was there. There were 11 other guys missing. And to be honest, if I had gotten an invitation, which I didn't – I didn't know we were supposed to get one – but still, nine times out of 10 I would have turned it down. … This is not our moment. This is the moment of 2024. Let these guys have their moment.”

Perkins has modified his mind concerning the Celtics periodically over the past few months, especially each time Boston encountered one among the few obstacles it faced in the course of the 2023-24 season.

His harsh comment about Joe Mazzulla's coaching IQ in January prompted the Celtics coach to take a subtle jab at Perkins during a press conference – calling himself a “bird brain.”

Given Perkins' history of criticizing the Celtics, Scalabrine's comments about Boston's lack of an “open arms policy” toward Perkins can have some merit. However, Perkins stressed Monday that his recent efforts to succeed in Scalabrine have been fruitless.

“Right now I feel like you're avoiding me,” Perkins said of Scalabrine. “I have a problem with that. Can't we have a conversation between grown men?”

Things proceed to go downhill for Mavericks star Luka Doncic.

The 25-year-old guard was the goal of heavy criticism for his performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The talented scorer was sent off for a foul within the fourth quarter as Dallas attempted to orchestrate a comeback within the decisive period against the Celtics.

Not only did Doncic put his team in a brutal situation with fouls (including 4 fouls within the fourth period), he also questioned the referee's performance in his post-game press conference as a substitute of taking responsibility for his own undisciplined play.

“I mean, I don't know. We couldn't play physically, so, I don't know. I don't want to say anything, but [a] sixth foul in the NBA Finals when I'm basically like that?” Doncic told reporters, gesturing as if he had been standing still. “Come on, man, this is better than that.”

Doncic's play and his postgame comments prompted ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst to call his performance “unacceptable,” adding, “The fact that he came out after the game and blamed the referees tells me he's nowhere near that point.”

Windhorst was removed from the one ESPN media star to sharply criticize Doncic and his comments following Boston's 106-99 win, which gave the Celtics a commanding 3-0 lead within the series.

Considering how much criticism former Boston star Kendrick Perkins has faced with the Celtics over the past few seasons, you realize Doncic has put himself in a difficult position if Perkins is the one calling him out.

“Let's put the (expletive) nonsense (expletive) aside. … We look at the Dallas side of things: Kyrie Irving showed up and did what he was supposed to do.” Perkins said on Wednesday night on the podcast “Road Trippin'.” “There’s no getting around it: Luka (swear word) is out of the game.

“He drained his team emotionally, even (Mavs head coach Jason Kidd). It started on offense, whining every damn turnover, falling to the floor, not getting back in transition, not trying for a second attempt. He didn't punch out once.”

Similar to Windhorst, Perkins emphasized that Doncic focused on the wrong things during Wednesday's game – even before he took out most of his frustration on the referees.

“It was a timeout, he was yelling at his teammate, and his teammate wasn't involved in the play at all,” Perkins said. “Who's mad? The cop committed a foul. That wasn't a foul. Why did you even put yourself in that position? He quit.”

“That was by far the worst performance I've seen from Luka in the playoffs. He lacked energy, leadership, and emotions. He wet the bed in the crib.”

On Thursday: Stephen A. Smith of ESPN took part in the criticism of Doncic on “First Take”, Smith challenged the Celtics to finish the sweep on Friday night in Dallas.

“It was the level of selfishness and the lack of responsibility,” Smith said of Doncic's performance on Wednesday. You're the superstar of the team. You're speculated to be the leader of the team. Let's put you all in perspective. We're sitting here and Kyrie Irving is seen because the reasonable one.

“The reasonable person who has to step up and help bring Luka Doncic back in because Luka Doncic is so petty and so petty. Let's not forget him yelling at his bench and his coaches, 'Damn it, question the decision.' We saw that. He's pointing the finger at everyone but himself, and he's taking himself out of the game.”

In April 2023, a song entitled “Heart on My Sleeve” was released, written and produced by a mysterious producer named Ghostwriter, went viral on TikTok and briefly became the preferred song each on YouTube and Spotify.

But just as quickly as “Heart on My Sleeve” took off, Spotify and YouTube removed the song from their libraries. The producer and songwriter had used artificial intelligence to create vocals for the song that seemed like Drake and The Weeknd. Universal Music Group, which represents each artists, had threatened legal motion.

Although Drake was actually aware of the commotion, he didn’t seem fazed by it.

In fact, it was he who incorporated AI-generated vocals into his music just over a 12 months later during his ongoing feud with rapper Kendrick Lamar.

I even have been following these developments – which affect the core of technology, music and law – closely, each as a digital media scholar and as a rapper who was considered one of the primary To Interpolate rap lyrics with samples of previously released lyrics.

As Drake showed in his diss track, AI can assist artists produce music. But the technology operates in a legal grey area – especially relating to singing.

The transient moment within the highlight of AI Tupac

On April 19, 2024, Drake released a song“Taylor Made Freestyle,” which used AI-generated vocals from Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

On the routethe AI ​​voice of Shakur – who died in 1996 – turns to Lamar and skewers his silence within the feud between the 2 rap giants:

“Kendrick, we need you, the savior of the West Coast / We need to etch your name in hip-hop history,” raps the faux Shakur. “Name him for me — h / Talk about him liking young girls as a gift to me.”

Not surprisingly, Shakur’s legacy threatened legal motion against Drake for unauthorized adoption of Tupac's voice and personality, which they believed violated the late artist's rights to regulate the business use of his identity.

Howard King, the estate's attorney, stated in a letter that the estate would never have authorized this use. Drake pulled the diss track from streaming platforms and YouTube.

Rights versus what AI writes

It is essential to tell apart between copyright and an individual's personal rights.

Because copyright laws use the term “author,” they’ve traditionally been interpreted to refer exclusively to to the creative work of an individualIn other words, in keeping with copyright law, only humans may be considered authors, and their texts, artwork, photos and music can’t be used without their permission.

When it involves AI and copyright, considered one of the important thing legal questions is the extent to which copyrighted material may be used to coach the models. That's why the New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft: The firms trained their models with articles that appeared within the publication without the newspaper's permission.

Someone's Right to publicityrefers to their ability to earn money from their name, image, likeness, voice or signature.

Probably probably the most famous case on personal rights is a lawsuit filed by Bette Midler against Ford Motor Co. in 1988.After Midler turned down the automaker's offer to look in considered one of its television commercials, Ford used considered one of their former background singers to mimic her singing voice within the business.

Ford needed to pay Midler $400,000 for violating her privacy rights. This ruling by the state of California will now prove crucial in determining how AI may be used to clone a star's voice.

However, it will not be easy to implement personal rights in court in cases where AI is involved.

Actress Scarlett Johannson will discover this when it sues OpenAI for releasing a brand new AI voice assistant technology that uses a voice that sounds exactly like yours.

Because AI language models are designed to be trained on original work using a wide selection of sources, without proof of intent it continues to be difficult to find out what’s outright theft and what is solely a product of this range of influences. In Johannson's case, OpenAI invited her to be the voice of its AI assistant technology. She declined, and the corporate says it developed a voice for themselves. Although this voice sounds eerily much like that of Johnannson, the corporate claims that it never intended to mimic the actress' voice.

When identity fraud constitutes a violation

In any case, current federal copyright law doesn’t specifically address cloned singing voices or the usage of an individual's voice in a brand new or different context.

When it involves songwriting, these voice clones differ somewhat from existing copyrighted material, as they often introduce original lyrics and musical elements from musicians to supply input to the AI.

In contrast, Precedents in California and other states claim that imitating a famous musician in music can constitute a violation of that musician's personality rights.

The privacy rights that Shakur's estate relies on are probably higher suited to a lawsuit: They protect an individual's own image – their face, their voice, or their distinctive sayings – even after they are utilized in a wholly recent context.

As is well-known, within the Nineties there have been injunctions against musicians who used samples from boxing ring announcer Michael Buffer. Trademark catchphrase “Let's Get Ready to Rumble!” In the past, nonetheless, these rights were primarily asserted in litigation concerning promoting and business use, but not in relation to newly created works resembling songs.

What can we do now?

Given the legal uncertainty The record industry and other top creatives have pushed for brand new laws to handle the issue.

Tennessee recently passed a law called ELVIS Act that goals to crack down on voice cloning by expanding state privacy laws beyond mere promoting. This law can protect artists from unauthorized voice cloning and be sure that their vocal expressions should not used without their consent. Federal lawmakers are also considering similar bills that will recent, broader definitions of non-public rights

Given the advances in artificial intelligence, I believe everyone agrees that it can be crucial to guard the role of humans within the creation of art.

While AI can produce impressive imitations, it lacks the soul and spontaneity that human artists bring to their work. In my view, the role of AI in songwriting mustn’t just be to repeat human talent. Rather, AI should enhance and support the work of artists, allowing them to make use of the technology without being overshadowed by it.

The AI ​​train has left the station. Now guardrails should be put in place quickly to stop the technology from derailing the music industry.