New York City is not as much of an American football city as others across the country, so the craze around the Super Bowl was not as felt. But even stone-faced and cool New Yorkers were waiting in anticipation for the halftime show.

Kendrick Lamar has had a great year. With the rap battle with Drake, in which he demolished the Canadian’s career, he started a new era for himself as a musician and as a performer. The culmination of this transformation was precisely the Super Bowl halftime show. Heavy in imagery and symbolism, the show was a true spectacle worth the rewatch and analysis.

In terms of grandeur and stage effects, the show could have easily disappointed fans as those elements were mostly absent. It was minimalistic, relied on people catching the references and easter eggs generously thrown around and stunned mostly with unexpected celebrity cameos, most notably Serena Williams. There was no flying in the air like Rihanna or multiple stage changes like the big rap show with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick, and Mary J. Blige. But there was perfect choreography to frame the flag of the U.S., a compelling narrative led by Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam, the personified American institutions, and a brilliant game that Kendrick played with the audience by teasing them with snippets from “Not Like Us” all throughout the show (until, of course, against all “recommendations” he finally performed it). The stage represented a game controller, opening up a conversation about what this half-time show is really about.

I do not think I need to get into the details of setting the scene and describing it. There is hardly anybody who has not seen the show and for those of you who have not, watch it here before reading further. It is not a show one is able to describe well in words. We should, instead, focus all our energy on discussing the zeitgeist of the performance.

America has a problem. Some have known about it for some time, but for those that were not apparent, Kendrick made sure he spelled it out for all to understand. America has a problem with racism, hence the flag formed by the bodies of only Black dancers during the show. America has a problem with bureaucracy, hence all the allusions to games. America has a problem with identity, hence so many of its symbols were reimagined. In the center of it all: Kendrick Lamar, a rapper. He was all elegant swagger and swag elegance. But his face seemed perpetually contorted with fear (except when dissing Drake yet again). The show seemed to be happening around him, not because of him or with him. That was all intentional, too: through his art, Kendrick frequently reminds us that he is not the savior everybody presents him to be.

In a divided world, (of course) the opinions on the halftime show for the Super Bowl were mixed. Some liberal-leaning netizens called it “revolutionary,” but some conservatives were outraged at the use of American symbols, and some could not care less. And then there is Drake who re-lived his biggest nightmare of an audience of hundreds of thousands singing “A Minor” once again. Overall, there seemed to be something fundamental missing from the performance. For a show that aimed to make a statement, maybe this was not the right platform. Across the political circles online many are rediscovering the Ancient Roman phrase “bread and circuses,” an idiom describing politicians attempting to gain public approval or at least distract them through spectacles. What bigger circus than the Super Bowl with its multimillion-dollar ads? Kendrick still played by the rules of the big game, perhaps in an attempt to challenge the status quo from within. But some fans were reminded of Kwame Ture’s lessons in fighting for justice and called out the performance as an example of “Black bourgeoisie.” They warn that we should not be quick to give away titles and praises when all we see is more people going after luxury and power, no matter their intention or motivation.

In any case, Kendrick got to this discussion table and explained the rules of the game. What we make out of it and take away is ultimately unimportant: whether it is for political commentary or just for simple fun entertainment, Kendrick got us all covered, well, except Drake.