D.L. Hughley Says Kendrick Halftime Show 1st Good Thing Since Trump's Return

D.L. Hughley is railing against everyone critical of Kendrick Lamar's halftime show ... coming to his defense in a major way!

TMZ caught up with the outspoken comedian on the heels of the rapper's multi-layered performance, which some detractors dissed as boring ... but D.L. sees the whole conversation as a win win for Lamar.

D.L. feels white Americans only pay attention to Black Americans when they speak up as athletes or entertainers -- y'know, running, singing, dancing, or telling jokes.

He cites Muhammad Ali surrendering his heavyweight boxing title for refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War or LeBron James' infamous "shut up and dribble" scenario, and feels Kendrick followed in their footsteps.

Kendrick's performance spliced together red-white-and-blue imagery atop a giant PlayStation controller and enlisted Samuel L. Jackson to reprise his role from Spike Lee's "ChiRaq" film to symbolize America's socio-economic racial divides.

Pretty heavy stuff for a Super Bowl performance, but D.L. says Kendrick did his duty, and did it while President Trump -- who Hughley says has been trying to kill Black culture -- was present in the Superdome.

As we reported, Kendrick's been lauded for his performance, but he's also had notable critics -- actor-comedian Michael Blackson panned it, and he watched in person.

D.L. also wants to set the record straight that Lil Wayne was not snubbed for this year's Super Bowl, and thinks the magnitude of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's L.A. Super Bowl set has folks thinking the host city always has to be represented.