Fans online have accused Kendrick Lamar & Top Dawg Entertainment of juicing their numbers by using bots.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n
Moosa, Punch at the Billboard R&B\/Hip-Hop Power Players held at Unveiled on September 04, 2025 in New York, New York.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tErica Harris DeValve\/Billboard<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tPunch, Top Dawg Entertainment\u2019s president, stopped by The Joe Budden Podcast<\/em> recently and was asked directly about \u201cthe bot allegations\u201d that have been levied by fans online in a Patreon clip that has surfaced online<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI don\u2019t got nothing to say about it,\u201d he answered. \u201cWe don\u2019t bot.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBudden<\/a> then peppered him with a series of questions where he asked if he ever purchased bots, if he knows where to purchase bots, and if he\u2019s aware of people in the industry using bots to their advantage, with Punch answering \u201cno\u201d to every question except the last one, to which he added that juicing numbers has been an industry practice since the days of Myspace. \u201cBut our whole thing was like, if we do that, how are we going to know who the actual fan is?\u201d he continued. \u201cLike, we do a show, don\u2019t nobody show up because it was all fake. So we purposely chose not to do that back then.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe conversation then went into how something like bots could benefit an artist if they were in a close race to No. 1 on the charts, to which Punch replied, \u201cIf that\u2019s your aim, then yeah, I could see that, but we never been based on actual numbers. Our true metric is seeing people in them seats at the show.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn another clip<\/a>, Punch was asked why Kendrick Lamar<\/a>\u2018s decision to move on from the label that helped become a superstar happened so seamlessly. \u201cIt goes back to what you were saying earlier about being principled,\u201d he answered. \u201cWe 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\u2019s do it.\u201d He added that they still consider themselves family and pointed out that SZA<\/a> was featured on \u201cLuther,\u201d made an appearance at the Super Bowl, and co-headlined a stadium tour.<\/p>\n \n\tIf you want to watch the full episode, head over to The JBP<\/em> Patreon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t![\"Entertainment](\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/P1025120-e1778282852194.jpg?w=942&h=628&crop=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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