Terrence “Punch” Henderson Jr. took a moment to reflect on the early relationship between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, and how things eventually shifted, during an appearance on “The Joe Budden Podcast.”
The TDE president stopped by the show and touched on several topics surrounding the label, from former artists like Kendrick Lamar to current acts such as Doechii. At one point, the hosts asked him to weigh in on Drake and the long-standing narrative tied to their joint tour over a decade ago.
Back in 2012, Drake brought both Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Rocky along as opening acts for his “Club Paradise” tour. This came after Kendrick’s appearance on Drake’s Take Care and just before the release of his breakout project good kid, m.A.A.d city, as well as his later run on Kanye West’s Yeezus tour.
During the conversation, Joe Budden and the crew brought up how some fans still reference that tour, suggesting TDE should have remained grateful to Drake for helping boost Kendrick’s career. Joe even mentioned he wouldn’t diss Fabolous for similar reasons—but Punch didn’t agree with that perspective.
“We not friends like that,” Punch remarked about Kendrick Lamar and Drake. “It’s just business. It was beneficial to take Kendrick and Rocky on the tour as well, just like it was beneficial for them to be brought on tour. He’s smart in picking the people that he move with. It’s not just like, ‘Oh, here you go, I’m helping you.'”
Terrence “Punch” Henderson Jr. also weighed in on the idea that Drake was solely responsible for putting Kendrick Lamar on the map. While he acknowledged the impact of the “Club Paradise” tour, he made it clear he doesn’t see it as the defining moment in Kendrick’s rise.
“On top of that, you got to think, he got a Dr. Dre cosign,” Punch explained. “We went on tour with The Game, we went on tour with DJ Quik. That’s just business. […] We don’t view it as hatred, or it’s whatever. It’s for the love of the sport. Even if we cool, we can still go back and forth. We don’t hold that personal thing.”
He went on to describe the tension between Drake and Kendrick Lamar as something that started off purely competitive before escalating over time.
“[The Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef] started as competitive, just going at each other… If a line gets crossed, okay, I’ma cross this line,” Punch continued. “That’s just how it happens in the battle… A lot of things was said on both sides. We never complained about what was said from the other side… What I’m focusing on is the actual battle… That’s the rules of battling… “
