In a candid and detailed conversation with Curtiss King, Terrence “Punch” Henderson, president of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), revealed that Kendrick Lamar held back some of his heaviest bars from the diss track “Euphoria.” According to Punch, the original version of the song was significantly longer and included sharper jabs at Drake, which were ultimately removed after his advice.
While there have been whispers of a version of “Euphoria” stretching close to 20 minutes, Punch didn’t confirm the exact runtime, but acknowledged: “There was definitely a version that was longer than what the world got. There was a lot of stuff that didn’t make it on there.”
He elaborated that he had reservations about some of the lyrics: “There was just some things in there that I didn’t think would have been beneficial in the long run to put in there. So I gave him my input on that and he took some of those things out.”
On the “Like That” verse:
Punch explained that the tension had been simmering for some time. “[The energy] had been bubbling for a while. We had been pretty close-mouthed about it,” he said. Kendrick had played the song for Top Dawg, and when Punch heard about it, he checked in with Kendrick: “It’s going down?” Kendrick’s response: “Yeah, we’ll see what’s up.” Punch laughed as he recalled the moment, noting how people take these lyrical battles very seriously, while for Kendrick — who comes from a harsh environment in Compton — this is just music. “So I hear the record and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s up. It’s go time now, baby.’”
On Drake’s “Push Ups”:
Punch wasn’t impressed. His immediate reaction was: “It’s not enough.” He acknowledged the intent, but felt the approach lacked power: “I see where you going, but those angles are not gonna be enough.”
On why “Taylor Made Freestyle” was a misstep:
To Punch, Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle” came across as a disrespectful caricature of the West Coast. “To me, it felt like a mockery,” he said. He believes the song inadvertently brought West Coast artists and fans together, erasing any previous divisions: “Once you do that, you’re gonna get all the people together.”
On Drake’s “Family Matters”:
Punch had similar thoughts about “Family Matters” as he did “Push Ups”: “It’s not enough.” He pointed out that teasing a major moment — like “pushing the red button” — raised the hype to a level that the track didn’t deliver on. “That thing drops. [It was like], ‘Okay, you got dirty, you went far. Aiight, let’s go further!’”
On Kendrick’s strategic choices during the beef:
Punch confirmed that much of Kendrick’s lyrical approach was deeply intentional: “It was super calculated.” While not every detail was pre-planned, he said most of it was carefully thought through.
