Spike Lee has thanked Kendrick Lamar for making references to his work in the record-breaking 2025 Super Bowl half time show. The rapper cast Samuel L Jackson in a role similar to one of Lee’s films, as well as referencing Lee’s 40 Acres And A Mule production company.
During the show, Jackson played the character of Uncle Sam, a narrator for each segment of the show. Film enthusiasts noticed a similarity between the role and that of Dolemedes, the narrator character Jackson played in Lee’s 2015 film Chi-Raq. The filmmaker took to social media to praise both the reference to his film and his production company.
Lee posted a video of the performance on Instagram, with the caption: “I Want To Thank My Brother Kendrick For The 40 Acres And A Mule Shoutout Which Has Been The Name Of My Production Company Since NYU Grad Film School. And I Want To Send A Special Shoutout To My Morehouse Brother Samuel Jackson Who Started This Super Bowl Halftime Extravaganza As Uncle Sam And You Might’ve Seen Him As Dolemedes In CHI-RAQ”.
The Oscar winner continued: “The Term 40 Acres And A Mule Was A Proposal For Reparations To Former Enslaved African-Americans In The Aftermath Of The Civil War. The Proposal Was Intended To Provide Land And Resources To Provide Land And Resources To Help Free People Achieve Economic Independence. This Promise Was Ultimately Broken. HAPPY BLACK HIS-HERSTORY”.
Lamar’s performance, the most viewed Super Bowl Halftime show in history, has made headlines around the world for the performance of ‘Not Like Us’, the rapper’s diss track toward bitter rival Drake.
Both artists broke through in the industry around the same time but came to forge one of the most notorious feuds in rap history. The beef exploded in 2024 with the release of diss tracks between the pair, with each making accusations about the other’s personal life and talent.
Arguably the biggest track of this exchange was ‘Not Like Us’, which topped the Billboard 100 charts in America and broke the Spotify record for the most streamed rap song in one day. The track was teased during the halftime show before being performed at its centrepiece, with Lamar looking toward the camera to address his nemesis directly, and including Drake’s alleged former girlfriend Serena Williams among the dancers.
The performance of the track ended with a large sign in the crowd saying “GAME OVER”, an implication that performing the song on one of the world’s largest stages was a sign he had ‘won’ the beef. A full timeline of the feud can be read here.
The lights in the crowd during Kendrick Lamar’s Halftime Show read “Game Over” pic.twitter.com/wWBGIGVpql
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 10, 2025
In December, it was confirmed that A$AP Rocky would be joining long-time Spike Lee collaborator Denzel Washington in the director’s upcoming movie, a loose adaptation of the 1963 Akira Kurosawa thriller High And Low.
