Big Daddy Kane has assessed that J. Cole is a superior lyricist to Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
That’s the assessment that the Juice Crew legend made in a recent conversation with The Art of Dialogue, which dropped on Sunday (May 12).
“I’m actually more of a J. Cole fan, honestly,” he said when asked if he was rooting for Drake or Kendrick Lamar. “I think he is probably, you know, the greatest lyricist of this era. He’s my personal favorite, you know, of all them cats.”
For what it’s worth, Kane actually lives in North Carolina, Cole’s home state.
Check out the interview below. The comments about J. Cole begin at the three-minute mark.
Elsewhere in the same interview, the pioneering MC explained why he lost interest in the ongoing battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
“I was trying to keep up with the Kendrick and Drake thing but I kinda lost interest. It just wasn’t exciting to me — not because of them two, but because of the fanbase. The fanbase just made it to where, I’m good.
When asked about his issues with the rappers’ fans, Kane replied: “It’s not a competitive thing about who spit the better bars. It’s a thing about fact-checking to see if this person told the truth.
“It’s like, if the line is dope and he dissed you, it’s dope. It’s that simple […] Why are we trying to critique and decipher what was said? It’s just a dope rhyme. Enjoy the music, man, for what it is.”
He added: “It just wasn’t for me. It’s not about Kendrick or Drake; it’s the fanbase, the listeners and their comments and their views. They make it unenjoyable for me.”
Charlamagne Tha God also took issue with some of the tactics used in the rap battle, despite crowning it the “best rap battle I’ve ever witnessed.”
“I don’t like seeing these brothers Me Too-ing each other over a rap feud,” he said on The Breakfast Club earlier this month. “To me, that’s corny. If you’re going to call somebody a pedophile, if you’re going to call someone a woman beater, you got to have some real proof.
“If you’re going to accuse my friend and my girl of having a baby, and me thinking that that child is mine — those are some heavy accusations.”
He added: “It’s not like they’re trying to hold each other accountable; they’re just throwing these types of accusations around to attempt to ruin the image of the other, and that’s whack to me. Other than that, it’s been great.”
Agreed, he’s better than Kendrick and Drake. Although he’s not making my top ten dead or alive.
Yep. None of them are honestly top 25, but he’s the best out of the three by far. Those other two just had better co-signs. Jay kind of gave him one but not really. Kendrick makes terrible music, and Drake is a pop star who raps on the side.
Hands down!
All these Kendrick stans act like J. Cole aint close, but who is right? Some basement dwelling weirdos or an OG like Kane? I think I know the answer
Even my wife calls out J. Cole’s name, but I digress… Haha
That’s obvious. Sometimes you can’t even understand what Kdot is saying when he switch his style to mumbling
Yep. Said it a month ago. He’s the only one still getting better the last ten years, and he’s by far the only one consistently making good music recently. Glad he didn’t participate in the label-sanctioned bullshit.
Talk Kane!!
Can someone point out a track for me please, bcuz I never heard anything exceptional from dude. But willing to check it out..
Can someone point out a track for me please, bcuz I never heard anything exceptional from dude. But willing to check it out..