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US rapper Terrence "Punch" Henderson attends Billboard Power 100 at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles on January 31, 2024.
ay-Z walks around the pitch ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 final match between Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid CF at Wembley Stadium on June 01, 2024 in London, England.
Key Takeaways
- JAY-Z encouraged Punch to move forward with To Pimp a Butterfly despite concerns about fan reaction.
- The conversation gave TDE leadership confidence to support Kendrick Lamar’s creative direction.
- The moment highlights how mentorship can influence bold artistic decisions in Hip Hop.
Before Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly redefined modern Hip Hop, even the team behind it wondered how fans would react. Top Dawg Entertainment President Terrence “Punch” Henderson recently recalled a pivotal conversation with JAY-Z that helped him push forward with confidence.
During a recent interview, Punch reflected on the mindset leading up to the 2015 release. “It’s funny, I said this online before... While we were working on To Pimp a Butterfly, me and SZA would go to Beyoncé’s sessions, and she was writing for her,” he said. “JAY-Z was there every night. So, I had a chance to talk to him, and I told him, ‘Yo, we getting ready to drop this album that’s going to piss off the whole fanbase.’”
Rather than discouraging the move, Hov encouraged it. “His response was, ‘Good, do it now, so they can’t never put you in the box,’” the New York native recalled. “And that stuck with me, for sure. … It gave me more confidence, like, yeah, ‘We on the right track, for sure.’ That’s always the thing — it’s rules that’s set, the geniuses know when to break those rules.”
Punch admitted that the project did ruffle some feathers upon release but said that was part of the point. “And with that being said, he could never be put in a box,” he added.
‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ remains one of Kendrick Lamar’s most powerful albums
To Pimp a Butterfly turned 10 earlier this year and remains one of the most celebrated albums in Hip Hop. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earned Kendrick seven Grammy nominations, including Best Rap Album and Album of the Year.
Blending Hip Hop with jazz, funk, and soul, the project pushed boundaries both musically and lyrically. Its themes of racial inequality, mental health, and self-discovery were partly inspired by Kendrick’s visit to South Africa in 2014, where he toured Nelson Mandela’s jail cell on Robben Island. While some fans were initially caught off guard by the shift in sound from good kid, m.A.A.d city, the album ultimately redefined what rap could be — proving JAY-Z’s advice right: Kendrick was never meant to fit in a box.