We’re more than a year removed from Drake and Kendrick Lamar launching diss tracks back and forth, and though the latter was victorious, the chatter continues.
Fans are still dissecting the records or perceiving either rappers’ most minor moves as subtle jabs, including some of those closest to them, like TDE president Terrence “Punch” Henderson.
Punch recently sat down with Curtiss King for a lengthy three-hour interview, giving some behind-the-scenes details of the beef.
He suggests that “Euphoria” may have been even more damning if not for some last minute editing. The topic comes up around the 1:19:40 mark when King asks if the rumors of an 18-minute version of the song were true.
“I don’t know the length, but there was definitely a version that was longer than what the world got,” Punch begins. “There was a lot of stuff that didn’t make it on there.”
Punch then explains that K. Dot played him the more extended version, and he suggested he cut out some of the bars, which he did.
“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,” Punch said.
After “Euphoria,” there was the gut punch of “Not Like Us,” which became a catchy anthem and led to Kendrick Lamar winning five Grammys and performing at the Super Bowl halftime show.
While Lamar won the beef, Punch said Drake also made some crucial mistakes, most infamously, “Taylor Made.” It included AI verses from West Coast legends Snoop Dogg and Tupac, which Punch says “felt like a mockery of the West Coast. So when you do that, you’re gonna unite it.”
Regarding the actual diss tracks of “Push Ups” and “Family Matters,” the TDE boss feels they weren’t lethal enough.
“I think another mistake that they made was giving the idea that they was finna push this red button. When you do that, you build the anticipation a bit too high, so now people have expectations. Like, ‘I’m finna hear some stuff now! It’s over now!’” Punch recalls. “That thing drops. [It was like], ‘Okay, you got dirty, you went far. Let’s go further.’”
If you’re tired of the beef discourse, there’s no escaping it just yet, as Lamar just kicked off his 39-show Grand National Tour with SZA. Not only is “Not Like Us” on the back half of that set list, but he also teases it with a cross-examination skit, mocking Drake’s “Drop, Drop, Drop” adlib from “Family Matters.”
See how social media is reacting to “Euphoria” initially being even more shocking below.
