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On Thursday, February 13, Punch addressed the negative commentary circulating online about Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday. In his tweet, the TDE president emphasized that the goal of artists from the "hip-hop culture" was to be their true selves and not fit in with the mainstream.
He wrote:
"Seeing all of the commentary surrounding the Super Bowl performance, it's showing that we lost sight of what we've always fought for... to be who WE ARE as artist of Hip Hop Culture. Since when did we want to fit in with the mainstream?? lol."
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Punch further wrote that while hip-hop artists like Lamar did want to perform on mainstream platforms, it was to be able to display their authenticity and not to conform to mainstream norms, which is what makes hip-hop "so appealing."
His tweet comes as many netizens on social media criticized K-Dot's Super Bowl performance for the absence of any explosive elements, unlike other artists who have previously performed in the Halftime Show. Meanwhile, in an older tweet uploaded on Monday, the talent manager also called Lamar's performance "historic."
Punch talked about why Kendrick Lamar didn't include Not Like Us on his 2024 album
This isn't the first time Punch has spoken in support of Kendrick Lamar. Last week, on February 4, the Uninspired rapper was asked on X why Lamar didn't include his megahit diss track, Not Like Us, on the album GNX.
Replying to the tweet, Punch claimed it was because of Kendrick's "integrity." According to him, the Money Trees rapper saw the album as a separate entity from the song, recognizing that Not Like Us was created solely for his rap battle with Drake.
Punch further wrote that even though adding the track to GNX would boost the album's sales, Lamar decided to "leave it for what it was." However, the Squabble Up rapper hasn't made any comment on the theory yet.
Another question Punch received in the X thread was whether or not Lamar was working on his album prior to the rap battle. The TDE executive answered:
"Lol. That's all I got champ. He can speak on that if he ever choose too."
Not Like Us stole the show at the Grammys on February 2. The track won in all five categories it had been nominated in, including two of the big fours: Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
As Kendrick Lamar accepted his Record of the Year award at the Grammys, the rapper dedicated it to "the city," saying:
"We gon’ dedicate this one to the city... I can’t give enough thanks to these places that I rolled around since high school, and most importantly the people and the families out in Palisades and Altadena. This is a true testament that we will continue to restore this city."
Kendrick Lamar's Humble is eligible for 2x diamond certification
In the wake of Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance, his 2017 track, Humble, recently crossed the milestone of selling over 20 million copies, making it eligible for a double-diamond status.
When it was released back in 2017—as part of Kendrick's fourth studio album, Damn—the song debuted atop the US Billboard Hot 100. It went on to receive four nominations at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards and winning in three of those categories.
Per HotNewHipHop on February 10, as the song receives its double-diamond certification, it will become the second to have achieved the status, with the first being Post Malone's 2018 track Sunflower.
The Post Malone and Swae Lee track was introduced as a single in the soundtrack of the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and was later included in Malone's third studio album, Hollywood's Bleeding (2019).
Sunflower received wide acclaim from music critics around the world, becoming Malone's third song to peak on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also nominated in two categories at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Upon receiving the double-diamond certification, Kendrick Lamar's Humble will also become the first-ever pure rap song to achieve that status, as per HotNewHipHop.
