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TDE President Punch Denies Bot Allegations on Joe Budden Podcast: “We Don’t Bot”
TDE president Punch denied using bots on The Joe Budden Podcast, saying "We don't bot" and pointing to live-show attendance as the label's core metric.
Punch, the president of Top Dawg Entertainment, denied that the label inflates streaming numbers with bots during a recent appearance on The Joe Budden Podcast. In a clip that has circulated online, Punch told host Joe Budden, “I don’t got nothing to say about it. We don’t bot.”
Moosa, Punch at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York. Erica Harris DeValve/Billboard
The exchange stems from fan accusations that Kendrick Lamar and Top Dawg Entertainment have boosted their numbers with bots. A Patreon clip that surfaced online captured Budden asking Punch directly about the “bot allegations.” in a Patreon clip that has surfaced online.
Budden pressed further, asking whether Punch had ever purchased bots, whether he knew where to buy them, and whether people in the industry use bots. Punch responded “no” to each of those questions, except when acknowledging that artificially inflating numbers has been an industry practice since the days of Myspace.
“But our whole thing was like, if we do that, how are we going to know who the actual fan is? Like, we do a show, don’t nobody show up because it was all fake. So we purposely chose not to do that back then.”
Budden pushed on how bots might matter in a close chart race. Punch allowed that such a tactic could shift a contest for No. 1, but emphasized that TDE has never prioritized raw digital counts over audience engagement. “Our true metric is seeing people in them seats at the show,” he said.
In another clip, Punch addressed Kendrick Lamar’s departure from the label. When asked why the split felt seamless, Punch framed it as a matter of principle and mutual understanding. “We all cut from similar cloth. We understand. Kendrick fulfilled all his contractual obligations and he wanted to expand what he was doing. So, yeah, let’s do it,” he said.
Punch added that the relationships remain intact, pointing to recent collaborations and appearances as evidence: SZA was featured on “Luther,” Kendrick made an appearance at the Super Bowl, and the two co-headlined a stadium tour.
For the full episode, listeners can view the extended segment on The Joe Budden Podcast Patreon. head over to The JBP Patreon.
