Top Dawg Entertainment president Punch recently offered insight into where he believes the tension between Kendrick Lamar and Drake began—and according to him, it all traces back to Kendrick’s iconic 2013 verse on Big Sean’s “Control.”
In a conversation with Curtis King, Punch said, “I can give you my perspective, and yeah, that’s where it started. You know, Dot did the whole thing—a competition thing. Not an ‘I hate you’ thing, you know what I mean? Like, ‘We’re rapping. I’m trying to be better than everybody. You should be too.’ But a lot of people took it personal.”
When asked why some artists seemed to react so strongly, Punch half-jokingly said, “It was all the light-skin n****s,” quickly adding, “I’m joking, but I’m kind of serious at the same time.”
He went on to elaborate, pointing out that while others responded with mutual respect, Drake’s reaction stood out. “Pusha T was mentioned, right? He tweeted Dot and said, ‘I hear you loud and clear, Kendrick Lamar.’ Meek Mill saw Dot in the club, walked up, shook his hand, and said, ‘I gotta get you back.’ My guy J. Cole saw Dot—that ended up escalating into the fight with him and Puff. But then Drake… he’s doing interviews like he’s really upset about it. And that threw everybody for a loop.”
Source: Instagram
