How Terrence "Punch" Henderson Helped Build TDE + Coached Kendrick Lamar and SZA | Blueprint

[Music] writer/producer label president Terrance punch Henderson created an environment at Top Dawg entertainment where artists like Kendrick Lamar and scissor are able to succeed without compromise this is his blueprint you grew up in watts in the 80s what was your first sort of exposure to hip-hop my father would play Slick Rick and Doug E fresh the show when we gonna pick my mom up from work I would play that every day Run DMC ll Kane that sort of thing like that was my earliest moments and then my father would make a mix tapes like just for the projects that circulate around the project so I guess he was a early mixtape DJ so did you feel a connection to music from childhood absolutely like we wake up to music plan to clean the house probably just call it a clean up party whoo just hear the music blasting down steady come knocking on the door and then our mops and brooms all right music was always Central Park and were you pursuing music and any sort of serious way then no I mean I wasn't consciously but I was studying the game the whole time and I didn't realize it until I look back on it studying how Source magazine like all hip-hop publications studying interviews labs really answers of mine so you graduate from high school and you know if we were to be interviewing an 18 year old punch yeah what what would he think the next ten years would look like um I wasn't never really passionate about anything except music but I still wasn't considering music as a career I would still be lost at that time I would have no real answers for you how did that sort of Epiphany dawn on you was crazy I was sitting on the phone talking to one of my buddies and I had been writing a lot like I really got serious in the writing you know I was sharing some of this stuff I was writing with him over the phone I'm like yeah we should just started label we both love music and if we try to put our money together and buy some equipment we can record it and we figure out the rest from there were you working a nine-to-five in order to support what you were doing I was working at IKEA writing raps when there's no customers around I'm on the phone my boys he worked at like here - he's on the third floor so I'm on phone with him we strategizing that was really my college experience there's so many young people in that building like just trying to do different things so we know we go to work and be working on our stuff we get off we go over to his house to the studio record they fired me he said I had no sense of urgency so at this juncture had you met top dog yet yeah he's your cousin it's funny because this pitch was I was like him holding me when I was a kid like to see that and then to see where we are now is it's crazy he was there from the start of when I was trying to do what I was doing and he gave me a little advice on stuff that you know he was trying to do so it was constant conversation if I had a question I called him or whatever how do you get from you know putting together this first studio having loose conversations with top dog but you know fundamentally doing your own thing - deciding to combine forces the conversations just grew more with me inside remember one day he was like you know he liked the way I think like over my line where I should just come over with him and at the same time I was reaching a limit with what I was doing because there like he couldn't go no further like we didn't have the the means but we couldn't be at all the spots we needed to so we literally had jobs that we had to pay for stuff so that was like kind of killing us who was the first of the artists that is currently a TD on the TD roster that you guys encountered it was j-rock okay yeah he was the first one and how did that how did he sort of come into your does that happen on accident cuz uh it was another guy for more neighborhood who was coming over recording so one day top was going to pick him up and he acts top could he bring j-rock and another guy so I was like cool wait for me you know me on this street I'll be there to pick y'all up so you know when top give you a time like you got a it's like the cable man it's like a window and good for our window so the artist the kid was coming he got impatient and he left he was like man I'm good I'm leaving so other to j-roc and other guy was are we gonna stay there as soon as he left maybe 20 minutes later top pulled up yo where's such-and-such he left oh yeah I want to come record yeah so they hopped in the car her j-rock voice it was over it was just his his tone like the way he sounded like that voice shouldn't be coming out of his frame so while while j-rock he's sort of putting the pieces together mm-hmm all the other artists of your from you the black hippy crew hmm start making their way into the studio and then onto the label as well right well Kendrick came maybe a month or two right after j-rock he had a mixtape that I was sitting in the studio and I stopped what it was cuz I was this kid I'm gonna check it out so I took it put it in my car and I'm listening my oh is Duke I really rap you hear a lot of Lil Wayne in Florence a lot of jay-z influenced I'm like he doing his stuff so there may be a week after that I came back to the studio and Kendrick was in there recording he's working on the chorus part and the way he was stacking the vocals on the hook this kid got it so from that moment I knew he was gonna be the one for sure you get j-rock then you get Kendrick hmm and schoolboy and have so come in the next six months or a year I am so Cain may be here after Kendrick no way that happened was a sound way for producer so he had absol at his house one day rapping for me this was years before I mean we got TDE form so it was all in the studio and I was like yo remember that kids you arriving for me like where is he so he caught him up and so came to the studio and they dem three made a song that night j-rock soul and Kendrick Q became a member through alley like Ali was playing he's the mix engineer he's the engineer if I leave the engineer he was playing a football at junior college in LA and Q was on the team so after practice whatever I Lea come to mix in here brain Q with him I didn't even know here I don't think nobody did he was just cool cat quiet and hanging in the back then one day yeah like this verse on the wackest beat I've ever heard in my life like the beat was made out of gun sounds but he was spitting on it so my yellow it's kind of crazy I just told him to keep coming keep rapping if you know me if you wouldn't want to try to pursue it all of your artists are extremely talented lyricist but the type of music they make is not really congruent with what is like popular in 2006/2007 right how are you thinking about breaking all of them I wasn't I wasn't thinking about breaking them I wouldn't have we didn't have that industry experience to know what break-in the artist was we were just trying to make the music that we actually like as we grew in the than the business mm-hmm start trying to make the radio records it was terrible it just didn't work it wasn't it wasn't a good feeling when you're trying that hard and then it's still not working I was like all right let's just make what we want to make you guys start taking meetings and shopping j-rok how did you end up settling on asylum it wasn't Asylum it was a Warner okay it just seemed like the right feel at the time like we was still we was still green we didn't know we got an offer like all right let's do it let's get it we thought as soon as we sign the deal we want that's the end of the road we got it what did you realize it wasn't the case like that was the furthest thing from the truth getting signed to a label looked like a big break but it actually made the crew more vulnerable punch had to figure out how to give his artist the upper hand going forward how did the situation at Warner fall apart well what happened was when asylum merged we were just about to impact that radio like j-roc was as hot as he had ever been we had the the single with old Wayne and was moving and was about to impact that radio and they came a week before that and shut everything down we know how it worked so we felt it was disrespectful right off top like you just come set it down you don't talk to us or do none of that so I started a rocky relationship with us and the guys who came in she negotiated getting him off the label that's a good word negotiate yeah yeah but I think we didn't fit and we didn't want to be there I don't think they necessarily wanted us to be there so it kind of did it was kind of easy split what were you and top thinking in terms of how to you know overcome this setback and get the label and the sort of momentum back on track go straight to the people we got this internet thing that's moving now we got Twitter whatever that is you're trying to figure out to use that like we we don't have we don't need a middleman so if we can go directly to the people then when it's time to deal with them again if we want to then we'll have leverage so this is when you start putting out like over the dedicated absolutely habits & contradictions and so the first one was a Kendrick Lamar EP which the whole story behind that was it was supposed to be about six songs it's what's called the EP but it was to introduce him as Kendrick Lamar because he was changing his name from KDOT to Kendrick and he was known locally as a knight right the first thing you do when you introduce yourself to somebody is you're telling your name and that's how they get to know you and who you are and at that time you want to make more personal music like before that he was rapping for the sake of rapping rapping about rap I was like tell stories and show your lyrical ability within those true stories like that'd get the people right away so the next big break for the label came in 2012 you guys announced that you were signing Kendrick with aftermath and Interscope right how did that connection happen I think Drake called a top you just called him off the blue yeah Oh hates dr. dre affray thinks I hung up on him like his little tray but uh Dre I say he I think he was either out of town or busy and he wants to get with Kendrick in like the next two weeks or so how did you know that that was the right situation for you he did exactly what he said like he said he didn't want to change anything he said he wanted to enhance whatever he was doing and the way he enhanced was by giving his insight giving his opinions and it worked out why it worked out for the best what were the game-changing insights that he was able to provide you guys that took good kid from an amazing record to a classic just watching him because he was recording uh records at the same time so I remember time being at his house and he's working with Snoop snow doing like an 8 bar verse and Dre is not letting up on him like he's punching every other word like he said you say it like this try it like this it's new go back in knocking it out doing exactly how Dre wanted it done so it's like that taught us to don't let up you know I mean just keep going until it sounds how you want it to sound you know me and that's that's one of the strong qualities that journey instill one of the defining traits of all the projects that you guys have put out there is a more conceptual idea that sort of hinges them all together right what's the process for your artist arriving at those concepts do you sit and talk with them for hours we spent more time talking in the studio during recording early on for sure I was all just be sitting around just throwing out ideas or talking about whatever from science to religion to history so what's going on in the neighborhood I just talking talking talking and through that we develop certain concepts certain ideas the people that you work with somehow are able to transcend out of you know the space of hip-hop music or urban music and you know have earned the respect as some of the most important writers of their generation did you have any sense that that is what you were working with in 2009-2010 that wasn't never the goal the goal was to always touch people so whatever came with that was cool we were going against the grain of what was popular I would do it that every time if you look at that the history I would did a concept album Kendrick first album when the focus was singles you know I mean he had a 12-minute song on his first album I just wasn't happening everybody was trying to get the club record or the girl record on a radio record or whatever by the end of 2014 you guys start branching out you sign as a Rashad and then scissor right now I think for a lot of people who didn't really know what to make of what you in top dog were building they looked at it as like okay well they got that black hippy crew that's gonna be the label all right and then all of a sudden you start signing these people from totally disparate places with totally disparate sounds how did you look at those artists and think about building the roster both of them was so original and distinctive the story was scissors when I met her she was actually helping out with merch at a show we did with Kendrick ironically her friend was listening to something she just recorded in the earphones and I asked her what it was like it's hard she's seen and like her voice was so distinctive AG I haven't heard anything like it and then when I start listening to the words she attacked it as a lyricist my old cat know what that is I'm not to work with that and then what Isaiah the first thing that caught me was the pain in his voice it's a certain level of pain that he has that just cuts through the record like every time oh and then - he nought to write a song at a very young age last October I think it was scissor tweeted that she wanted to quit music and if you wanted to put out the album you could put it out what all right what was going on behind the scenes like she was going through a lot like personally she had some stuff going on like family or whatever and we're talking about the album and she was talking about her sound and hit records in Y yo you don't have a sound yet you don't have hit records yet she got high she didn't like that mm-hmm so like immediately after we hung up that was the tweet that went out yeah yeah you could put out my album if you want but I was just like I spared a moment conversation it happens all the time he usually don't go to go through the tweets I understand what Ceaser you were responsible for pushing the album back and also for forcing her to write all of the songs herself mm-hmm how did you arrive at that decision and to how did you communicate that and get her on board with that well she's a very very complex artist complex person so she don't view herself all the time how the mass is actually viewer I should do something incredible everybody loved it it should feel like it's okay then it'll be I hate it so it's like trying to navigate through that I don't want to kill her process at the same time so it's like you threatened the needle with it but you got to be very cautious very delicate on how you approach that situation but at some point you got to say all right stop the album coming out or stop recording cuz it go on forever what role would you say that you played in all of the artists in their growth over the last you know half decade I think I'm more of the the confirmation because they they all know that I can I can write our record like they respect what I do musically as well I had always been a writer but I never considered to be a rapper though so they know I understand them more than the average business person would on average label person would because I know what it's like to be stuck on a bar or I know what it's like to deliver a certain lyric a certain way so it's a deeper connection so they know they can always call me like yo what you think about this and I would give them exactly what it is like I can give them insight more way more insight on it are we ever gonna see the punch solar project man oh so it's just like once I get going on it something else to come up where I gotta focus more attention on that and then I you know like I get set back and lose inspiration then I gain it again it would take a lot of time and time is something I don't have a lot of as TDE success grows punch maintains control by seeking wise mentors keeping his priorities straight and never stopping the grind when you look back at the last decade what are the moments that stand out to you as the ones you're the most proud of Kendrick Lamar EP came out in a song faith with me and Kendrick on there we did a in store signing and this girl came up to Kendrick crying said that the song saved her life like when I seen that in my art this is why we do it like this is the whole reason that right here like whatever was said on that record touched her so much that it changed something in her life that's outside of just music so that was one moment and then as of late I guess I would say was sizzurp project like I know everything she's been through in our struggle as a hardest as a person and the seed of success that has out how people respond to it there's nothing like it who are the people in the space that you still draw inspiration from either the late you know on the label side or the artist no I get a lot of inspiration from Jay you know a talk to him pretty frequently and just the the small tip bits of information that he gives like helps with so much that's one of my biggest inspirations I fit the early on still like certain Jews they had a drop that always just sticks with me but now like top is in that space so I still draw inspiration from him of course and I get to see that like up close and personal every day what do you think the most important attributes of his personality are to the success of the label you guys run together nice patience he's not gonna move unless it's his time to move I taught me a lot like this it's times I'm looking at him like he crazy but yo they offering this place like what are we doing like nah that's not right but just for him to sit back and be patient like that just taught me everything at this point TD is extremely successful and very well established mm-hmm where are you on your journey if you had to sort of map it are you halfway there I'm not really goal driven that's not my thing I just enjoy making the music and touching people like once it touches the people and it moves them a certain way I guess that's the goal when it's being fulfilled everything else that comes with it is like I said this is cool I appreciate it for sure but the main focus is to change something about somebody's life are you a competitive person for sure go super hard but I'm not gonna cry for those what does money mean to you money is just a means to it's a means to live really I never been money driven always want to be cold of course be able to do what I need to do but my goal is not to you know have a money falling on my ear like I still even haven't even bought a car hit really living in LA hey I mean of course I get around but like I haven't went out and splurged on I mean the whip mm-hmm it's whatever I just need to get to the studio you know when you start the label everyone is living together sleeping on the floor and during the hardship and in certain ways that's incredibly challenging but in other ways it's it makes it much easier to keep a certain sort of consistency philosophically within the artists and the products that you're putting out now that you've started to expand and enjoy the success right how do you keep that brand integrity as you scale we try to remember those days when we were all together I would try to keep that at the forefront and never lose sight of that like our motto is hustle like you broke so if once we keep that in mind and we everything kind of stays intact but of course it gets tough like the more success the further everybody separates and it's not a bad thing is just expansion but long as everybody keep the goal in mind we pretty much stay intact [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Complex

Views: 195,255

Rating: 4.8854823 out of 5

Keywords: sneakerhead, complex, complex originals, sneakers, news, entertainment, current affairs, young man, culture, cool, edgy, funny, complex tv, complex media, Kendrick Lamar, k dot, black hippy crew, compton, south central, LA, dr. dre, fifty cent, jay z, ab-soul, jay rock, SZA, scHoolboy Q, isaiah rashad, top dawg entertainment, Punch, TDE, Anthony Top Dawg Tiffith, blueprint the show, music labels, music business, record execs, noah callahan-bever

Id: _OFoajWeJ50

Length: 25min 48sec (1548 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 18 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/nickydoom]

He looks like fat ghostface

[u/thedadfromsmartguy]

Didn't know anything bout Punch before this video but ended the video very impressed, I just really like how calm, collected, and intellectual he is. Shoutout to TDE, they are successful for a reason.

[u/DasBlatt]

He seems so down to earth and chill and yet confident and focussed.

[u/Iyammagawd]

hes a dope rapper too, feel like I heard him on Overly Dedicated

[u/XBL-AntLee06]

“I would’ve got one for Punch but he move like a sloth”

[u/jonnierios]

I can't wait for his solo project, he said something about in the interview

[u/[deleted]]

He’s got a bunch of real good tracks n all

https://soundcloud.com/i-am-still-punch/25a

[u/thecarelesscanuck]

This is a hella informative interview