Taylor Crumpton Analyzed Kendrick Lamar’s Historic Year In Hip-hop

For TIME, Taylor Crumpton wrote about what Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show means for the future of hip-hop. In the essay, she reflects on how following the resounding success of his hit Drake diss track “Note Like Us,” Lamar is more entrenched in the pop landscape. For years, Crumpton argues, Lamar has had an uneasy relationship with mainstream success. She writes, “For all his mysticism and introspection, the common refrain has been that Lamar has never been able to ‘go pop.’” 

She analyzes how the halftime performance cements Lamar’s new place in the zeitgeist. She writes,“His belief in rap music, in the innovation of hip-hop, in the culture, is what brought him here. So perhaps it’s less of a coronation, and more of a christening—for a man who has proclaimed to not be hip-hop’s savior, but in many ways, is.” 

Crumpton’s writing has appeared in Pitchfork, Nylon, Marie Clare, Teen Vogue, and other outlets.