Dave Free has broken his silence regarding the mixed reception of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show performance, as the rapper’s creative partner disregarded qualms about the lack of signature songs included in the set.

From the start, Kendrick Lamar wanted to turn his life into a video game for his big Super Bowl halftime show. The team tasked with doing that knew what to do—right down to sourcing a vintage GNX.

In its framing, narrative approach, and density, Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl was unlike any that have come before it.