TDE president Terrence “Punch” Henderson has hit back at some of the criticism aimed at Kendrick Lamar‘s Super Bowl halftime show.
While the Compton rapper’s performance largely received critical acclaim, there has been some criticism from conservative pundits, as well as a few prominent voices in Hip Hop media such as Kai Cenat and Charlamagne Tha God.
AD LOADING...
Cenat, who attended the Super Bowl in New Orleans, gave his opinion on Kendrick’s performance during a Twitch livestream and claimed that fake crowd noises were added to the TV broadcast of his show.
“Oh my God, they added sound effects to the NFL shit. Oh my fucking God! So right here, there was no sound. On my life, right here, there was no sounds,” he said while rewatching footage of Kendrick performing his opening song.
AD LOADING...
He added: “The crowd was making no noise. I was there. The loudest [noise] the crowd made was when Kendrick being shown for the first time, SZA, Samuel L. Jackson being shown for the first time, and then ‘Not Like Us.'”
Charlamagne’s grievances with the show were due to it being “too Drake-heavy.”
Kai Cenat’s thoughts on Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show 👀
“If anybody was there, y’all felt it. Crowd was making no noise.”
“But what I will say is, the symbolism behind that performance was top tier.”pic.twitter.com/FimJAHDHnt
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) February 12, 2025
He said on The Breakfast Club: “I still wouldn’t have done ‘Not Like Us’ if I was Kendrick. Kendrick is bigger than ‘Not Like Us.’ ‘Not Like Us’ is a moment in time for Kendrick; it does not define him or who he is.”
The radio host added: “At the end of the set, it said ‘game over’ and I really hope it is at this point. You should never go past the mark you aim for in victory. […] I just wouldn’t give my opp and his minions that kind of love on that big-ass stage.”
On X (formerly Twitter), Punch defended his former signee by saying: “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.
“Sure we want the mainstream platforms, but only to do US. Authentically us. That’s what always made Hip Hop so appealing.”
AD LOADING...
He was joined in his defense by fellow TDE executive Hollywood, who mocked Kai Cenat’s Super Bowl comments by claiming they were made out of jealousy.
“This n-gga MAD MAD cause he didn’t access to dot suite!!! lol… I was there thats what it is!! lol,” he wrote in an Instagram comment.
One aspect of Kendrick’s halftime show that isn’t up for debate is the numbers. His performance was watched by a staggering 133.5 million people, making it the most watched Super Bowl show of all time — bigger than even Michael Jackson‘s iconic 1993 performance.
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.
Sure we want the mainstream…
— Punch TDE (@iamstillpunch) February 13, 2025
TDE manager 'HWOOD' says Kai Cenat was not allowed in Kendrick Lamar's suite, and that's why Kai is saying that the NFL added crowd noise to the halftime show and that the crowd wasn't loud📍
"this n*gga MAD MAD cause he didn't access to dot suite!!! lol… I was there thats… pic.twitter.com/yl8sFmAwuT
— SOUND | Victor Baez (@itsavibe) February 12, 2025
