J. Cole has expressed regret for responding to Kendrick Lamar’s diss this past weekend.
- READ MORE: Kendrick Lamar – ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ review: a cathartic, soul-baring autobiography
In March, Lamar took shots at Cole and Drake – the three of whom have been dubbed the “big three” referring to the three rappers who are considered to be the greatest mainstream rappers of 2010’s hip-hop.
Kendrick Lamar fired verbal shots at Cole and Drake on the track ‘Like That’, which was shared as part of Future and Metro Boomin’s new collaborative album ‘We Don’t Trust You’. Lamar appears as an uncredited guest on the song and raps: “Fuck sneak dissin’ / ‘First Person Shooter’ / I hope they came with three switches”. The mention of ‘First Person Shooter’ is a direct call out to the J. Cole and Drake collab track from the latter’s 2023 album ‘For All The Dogs’.
J. Cole. Credit: Josh Brasted/FilmMagic
This past Friday (April 5), Cole surprise-released a new album, titled ‘Might Delete Later’, which featured the closing track ‘7 Minute Drill’. The track saw Cole responding to Lamar, starting with “I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing / You want some attention, it come with extensions.”
Cole continued: “I’m hesitant, I love my brother, but I’m not gonna lie / I’m powered up for real, that shit would feel like swattin’ a fly / Four albums in twelve years, n****, I can divide / Shit, if this is what you want, I’m indulgin’ in violence”.
On Sunday night (April 7), J. Cole – who was performing a headlining slot at Dreamville Festival 2024 – has publicly commented on the feud, saying onstage that he thinks his response on ‘7 Minute Drill’ was the “lamest, goofiest shit”.
J. Cole says he regrets dissing Kendrick Lamar on his new project 🤔
“That was the lamest, goofiest sh*t […] That sh*t don’t sit right with my spirit” pic.twitter.com/2o7ggIK5hW
— Kurrco (@Kurrco) April 8, 2024
While performing at Dreamville, J. Cole said during a three-minute speech: “I just dropped a new album right? I’m so proud of that project, except for one part. It’s one part of that shit that makes me feel like ‘Man, that’s the lamest shit I ever did in my fucking life, right?’”
He explained, saying he was pressured into a response after Kendrick’s diss dropped: “Y’all heard that motherfucking bazooka that was dropped on the game right?… For the first time I was tested. ‘Cuz I got the world and my n****s like ‘What you gon’ do Cole?’. N****s wanna see blood and I was conflicted ‘cuz because I know how I feel about my peers. These two n****s [Drake and Lamar] that I’ve just been blessed to stand beside in this game, let alone chase their greatness.”
“I felt conflicted ‘cuz I know I don’t really feel no way but the world wanna see blood… In my spirit of trying to get this music out, I moved in a way that I spiritually feel bad on me. I tried to jab by n**** back and keep it friendly. At the end of the day, when I listen to it, and it comes out and I see the talk, that shit don’t sit right with me.”
J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar perform together in 2014. Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
J. Cole continued: “I wanna say right now tonight: ‘How many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherfuckers to ever touch a microphone? Dreamville, y’all love Kendrick Lamar, correct? As do I. I just wanna come up here and publicly be like, ‘Bruh, that was the lamest, goofiest shit.’”
“I pray that my n**** really didn’t feel no way and if he did, I got my chin out. Take your best shot, I’ma take that shit on the chin boy, do what you do. All good. It’s love. And I pray that y’all like, forgive a n**** for the misstep and I can get back to my true path. Because I ain’t gonna lie to y’all. The past two days felt terrible. It let me know how good I’ve been sleeping for the past 10 years.”
Drake and J. Cole performing live together in 2023. Credit: Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage.
Meanwhile, Drake – who this past weekend played his last date on a co-headlining tour with J. Cole – seemingly responded to Lamar’s diss late last month. While onstage, Drake said: “A lot of people asking me how I’m feeling… the way I’m feeling is the same way I want you to walk out of here feeling tonight about your fucking selves. You know the way I’m feeling? I got my head up high, my back straight, I’m feeling 10 feet fucking high.”
He continued: “No matter where I go, there’s not a n**** on this Earth that can fuck with me tonight. And that’s how I want y’all to feel. You can get yourselves gasses up, riled up and move to the future…Sometimes you’ve got to acknowledge the mistakes you’ve made in the past… and that’s what I want y’all to do.”
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