Terrence “Punch” Henderson, president of TDE, has addressed the criticism aimed at Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
While the Compton rapper’s show mostly received praise, some conservative commentators, along with a few well-known figures in Hip Hop media, like Kai Cenat and Charlamagne Tha God, voiced their concerns.
Cenat, who was present at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, shared his thoughts during a Twitch livestream, suggesting that fake crowd noise was added to the televised broadcast of Kendrick’s performance.
“Oh my God, they added sound effects to the NFL broadcast. Oh my fucking God! Right here, there was no sound. On my life, right here, there was no sound,” he said while watching Kendrick’s opening song again.
He added: “The crowd wasn’t making noise. I was there. The loudest noise from the crowd came when Kendrick was first shown, when SZA and Samuel L. Jackson were shown, and then during ‘Not Like Us.’”
Charlamagne, on the other hand, criticized the show for 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 expressed on The Breakfast Club: “I still wouldn’t have done ‘Not Like Us’ if I were Kendrick. Kendrick is bigger than ‘Not Like Us.’ ‘Not Like Us’ was just a moment for Kendrick; it doesn’t define who he is.”
The radio host further commented: “At the end of the set, it said ‘game over’ and I really hope it is at this point. You shouldn’t go past the mark you aim for in victory… I wouldn’t give my rival and his supporters that much attention on such a huge stage.”
On X (formerly Twitter), Punch defended Kendrick, stating: “Seeing all the commentary about the Super Bowl performance, it shows that we’ve lost track of what we’ve always fought for… to be who WE ARE as artists of Hip Hop Culture. Since when did we want to fit in with the mainstream?? lol.
“Sure, we want mainstream platforms, but only to be authentically US. That’s what made Hip Hop so appealing.”
Hollywood, another TDE executive, supported Punch and mocked Cenat’s Super Bowl comments, suggesting they were driven by jealousy.
“This n-gga MAD MAD cause he didn’t have access to dot suite!!! lol… I was there, that’s what it is!! lol,” he joked on Instagram.
One point of consensus about Kendrick’s halftime show is its viewership. His performance attracted an impressive 133.5 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl show ever — even surpassing Michael Jackson’s legendary 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
