J. Cole has publicly apologized to Kendrick Lamar for dissing him on “7 Minute Drill” while performing at Dreamville Festival.
Walking back his lyrics about his longtime friend on the surprise song that was released on last week, Cole expressed regret about releasing the track.
“I’m so proud of [Might Delete Later], except for one part. It’s one part of that shit that makes me feel like, man that’s the lamest shit I did in my fuckin’ life, right? And I know this is not what a lot of people want to hear,” he said to the crowd during his headlining set on Sunday night (April 7).
“I was conflicted because: one, I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers. These two n-ggas that I just been blessed to even stand beside in this game, let alone chase they greatness. So I felt conflicted ’cause I’m like, bruh, I don’t even feel no way. But the world wanna see blood. I don’t know if y’all can feel that, but the world wanna see blood.”
Cole went on to praise Kendrick: “That shit disrupts my fucking peace. So what I want to say right here tonight is in the midst of me doing that, trying to find a little angle and downplay this n-gga’s fucking catalog and his greatness, I want to say right now tonight, how many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherfuckers to ever touch a fucking microphone? Dreamville, y’all love Kendrick Lamar, correct? As do I.”
He continued: “I just want to come up here and publicly be like, bruh, that was the lamest, goofiest shit. I say all that to say it made me feel like 10 years ago when I was moving incorrectly. And I pray that God will line me back up on my purpose and on my path. I pray that my n-gga really didn’t feel no way and if he did, my n-gga, 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 forgive a n-gga 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.”
The Dreamville boss also said he would be taking the diss track off streaming services but at the time of writing it is still available on Spotify and Apple Music.
J. Cole’s apology was not well received by many in Hip Hop. Terrence “Punch” Henderson, the president of Kendrick Lamar’s former label Top Dawg Entertainment, simply wrote on X: “lol.”
Fellow TDE executive Moosa seemingly taunted Cole by posting a clip of OneRepublic’s hit “Apologize” along with the caption: “Sing.”
TDE signee Reason expressed dismay by writing: “Idk man, I just….idk,” while Kendrick collaborator Terrace Martin appeared to imply that Cole is soft by tweeting: “Cotton ball.”
Hit-Boy also criticized the apology, writing: “It might be over for real shit. damn.”
Chicago MC Mick Jenkins was especially vocal in his disapproval, tweeting: “As a. rappers rapper. As a competitor. I am surprised. I am disgusted. I am disappointed.”
Brian “B.Dot” Miller, veteran Hip Hop journalist and co-host of the Rap Radar Podcast, joked: “might delete later, indeed.”
“7 Minute Drill,” the closing song on J. Cole’s Might Delete Later, came in response to Kendrick Lamar’s blistering verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.”
That track, released two weeks earlier on Future and Metro‘s joint album We Don’t Trust You, found K. Dot taking thinly-veiled shots at both Cole and his “First Person Shooter” collaborator Drake.
“Fuck sneak dissin’, first-person shooter, I hope they came with three switches,” he rapped over the Three 6 Mafia and Eazy-E-sampling production.
He also declared: “Motherfuck the big three, n-gga, it’s just big me” before issuing a menacing threat to Drizzy, who he has long been at odds with: “‘Fore all your dogs gettin’ buried/ That’s a K with all these nines, he gon’ see Pet Sematary.”
Drake, for his part, has yet to directly respond to Kendrick’s verse, but he has made a number of comments that appear to address it.
During a show in Florida days after “Like That” dropped, the 6 God gave a defiant speech in which he claimed: “There’s not a n-gga on this Earth that could ever fuck with me in my life!”
good decision. Kendrick having 5 classic albums and cole having yet to make his first album…he defilitely took the wrong approach
Try hiding the dick riding better. GKMC was good the rest was ass.
What a bitch
I’ve never had such little respect for jcole. This is rap, it’s a competitive form of art, always has been, always will be. To apologize for a relatively lame diss is so pussy. This guy is disappointing.
You sound stupid. It’s competitive with making better music. If you don’t have real problems with somebody, that’s part of the minstrel show that these white executives have been feeding you. Were you hyped up for Eminem and MGK? Of course not. You only want to see this from black rappers who shouldn’t be doing this when there is no reason for it.
@Hov Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole know this is some bs that a record label concocted to make money. Neither rapper had there heart in this BS because they knew it was fake.
Have this ever happened in hip hop before? Lame. I hope K. Dot use this as a reference point on his next album. So many good bars can come out of this situation.
Smh the irony is that this apology is the lamest shit he’s done.
Wow Cole is ass.
The realest
Cut those dreds, grow some balls and maybe some respect can be earned back.
– same bald mf online with a cat
I always respected Cole. It takes a man to own up to his actions. I don’t understand why so many of our people hate one another? We’re the only people that’s doing the KKK’s job for them. You don’t see this mess in other genres. Ya’ll who disagree with him are some immature and ignorant people.
J Cole…go back into staying out of the way. I no longer want to hear anything you got now and in the future. Super lame! Kings defend their throne. You forfeited the title and can never recover in our minds. You bitch made. You need to battle Glorilla instead lol.
Big up to Cole. Most comments are coming from people who don’t understand what it is to own your actions. If you move in a way that you don’t like or made a mistake, own it and correct it. Don’t continue to move in the directions that don’t feel right. As a man, you have the ability to determine your own future and right a ship. He felt a way about how the situation went down and exercised his own power and autonomy to get right with himself. If more people knew the importance of this, less people would be getting killed and put in prison as the result of their destructive actions and letting the circumstances decide their path. Good on Cole for that. More people need to recognize and appreciate this aspect of the situation.
It was an incredibly mature action to make. So of coarse most 20somethings don’t get it….
What City and State are you from? Bro this is so soft. I’m from Philly so most of yall sound weird asf. Cole cooked kdot and he backing out?????? Did Nicki back out????? He corny asf for that. U are too tho
It needs a little higher temp to be cooked LOL.
The sad part is that it’s not the 20 somethings. It’s these old dudes trying to draw comparisons between 40 year old rappers who have been in the game 15 years at this point with lots of money and no personal problems with each other to dudes who were on the come up and genuinely had beef with each other over real life shit. This has always been the impetus for beef and why I respect his decision to dead this corny shit.
Nicki and Meg tha Stallion don’t like each other. That’s the difference weirdo. Even that said, their shit is corny too. Kendrick is on J. Cole’s second album. Top Dawg and Dreamville have fucked with each other for a decade straight, but your brain dead ass here talking about somebody soft when the face of your city is Puffy’s personal male escort.
What does Philly have to do with anything. You sound like a corny ass puss. You even compared him to nickis retarded ass. Nicca you lame af 😂
True. I’m a super mature person myself, so u diss people publicly theb apologize profusely a few days later. I’m 25, but you’d think I’m 75 with how mature I am!!!
LAME AF
That was corny, typical of their generation. J Cole, you get a participation trophy. Also this is why streaming sucks. Yall just try erase history to fit whatever narrative, but ive got the track in my mp3 vault.
Hopefully their generation learned from ours. The two best emcees of all time died in their mid 20s because of it. But as long as you were entertained, right?
We all know that the “beef” between J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar was fake, and most likely initiated by a record label to increase sales. I’m pretty sure they were forced to start that “beef”, but it backfired because we know it was bs. People are tired of the hate and negativity in Hip hop.
Yep. Half of Kendrick’s old label camp was at the festival, but these dumb mofos like entertain me like these white executives told them to. Just goes to show that they’re right about most of these hip hop fans being dumb as shit. Cole’s whole “diss” was saying he liked the dude. I said it the week Like That came out, we were about five years to the day Nip got killed, and this is what we were doing between almost 40 year olds who really have no personal issues with each other, and some of you think that’s a good thing?
Lost a lot of respect for this man. Your name is definitely now out-of the GOAT debate. You should have waited for Kendrick’s response before taking the L. Kendrick didn’t apologise for taking shots at you. I always knew you would Let Nas Down!!!
Don’t no one want blood we want bars and a battle it’s not that serious lmaooooo actin like people want rhem gun fightin. Over emotional ahhh shut up and rap
Kendrick is a big boy, if he can dish it then he can take it. There was no need for a grovelling apology for a diss that didn’t even go all the way in. I like Cole more than Kendrick (neither make my GOAT list) but this was lame simp sh**.
Agreed! Who’s on your GOAT list? Do tell.
How disappointing.
Lame. Hip hop killer disguised as a backpacker! Fuck outta here
WOW. Kendrick right after all. It’s just big him. Cole retreated and Drake too pussy to respond. All it took was one verse lmao
He’s gonna get dissed again anyway smh
And it’s soooo funny, because it’s all smoke and hype. No of the three are truly great, at all!
Pussy. Pathetic. It wasn’t even that hard of a diss anyway.
And people say Drake is soft…smh.
I’ve never known a rapper do this so quickly after releasing an album.
I could understand after a few years he might have regrets but not after a few days.
Seems like we’re still getting that joint album after all
I gotta be honest I thought K. Dots verse had WAY more shots at Drake than at Cole. I think the real beef is Kenny v. Drizzy cause Drake got the clout and fame, while real hip hop heads know Kendrick is a WAY better rapper. The only shot at Cole was about the big 3 line, and again, not even really a shot, so not sure why Cole replied first and not Drake
Seems like we’re still getting that joint album after all
Seems like we’re still getting that joint album after all
😱WTF, I done trying to figure out these youngins in today’s Hip-Hop. Carry on!!!
Lol. @Silent_Partner Last week was all Cole this, k dot that, white people execs but today he’s all “I respect Cole, Cole did the big thing.” It’s so funny how people humble themselves lmao
Did you ever see me big up that response fuck boy? I said it was stupid that Kendrick even dissed him in the first place when he’s been friendly with the dude when they were actually struggling to come up, which would have been the time to do that if you had real issues. but I don’t expect a bitch like you to get that. Also, if you can’t see that this is what these white executives want, I don’t know what to tell you, and I applaud him for not continuing with the dumb shit. If you want beef, you have actual dudes who have problems, Freddie Gibbs and Benny the Butcher. Instead of them stepping to each other in the streets, you should want them to get on wax to settle that. No, you’re here wanting some made-up beef instead because you’re brain dead.
Both Kendrick and Cole make good music both dope lyricist. I think Kendrick has the bulk of higher quality music and is a overall better rapper. I didn’t like to Pimp a butterfly, But Mr Morale and the big steppers is one of my favorite rap albums ever which makes To pimp a butterfly that more dissapointing. Cole never had the tools to compete head to head with Kendrick, Kendrick is a monster in a battle
You let me down again Cole.
From now on you are J FOLD
It’s funny to see people fight for two puppets just because they sound “lyrical”. Kendrick had to bend the knee to get Grammys after losing to Macklemore and never had an actually beef other randomly mention other rappers verses. J Cole had beef with Diggy Simmons and Lil Pump. Don’t get me started on Drake who ran away from Pusha T but even he did more than these two woke rappers. People want Biggie and Pac or Jay Z and Nas but these rappers are soft. Thats what you get for voting for Obummer and Sleepy Joe.
It’s funny to see people fight for two puppets just because they sound “lyrical”. Kendrick is a short dude who had to bend the knee to get Grammys after losing to Macklemore and never had an actually beef other randomly mention other rappers verses. J Cole had beef with Diggy Simmons and Lil Pump and couldn’t play pro basketball. Don’t get me started on Drake who ran away from Pusha T but even he did more than these two woke rappers. People want Biggie and Pac or Jay Z and Nas but these rappers are soft. Thats what you get for voting for Obummer and Sleepy Joe.
It’s funny to see people fight for two puppets just because they sound “lyrical”. Kendrick is a short dude who had to bend the knee to get Grammys after losing to Macklemore and never had an actually beef other randomly mention other rappers verses. J Cole had beef with Diggy Simmons and Lil Pump and couldn’t play pro basketball. Don’t get me started on Drake who ran away from Pusha T but even he did more than these two woke rappers. People want Biggie and Pac or Jay Z and Nas but these rappers are soft. Thats what you get for voting for Obummer and Sleepy Joe.
It’s funny to see people fight for two puppets just because they sound “lyrical”. Kendrick is a short dude who had to bend the knee to get Grammys after losing to Macklemore and never had an actually beef other randomly mention other rappers verses. J Cole had beef with Diggy Simmons and Lil Pump and couldn’t play pro basketball. Don’t get me started on Drake who ran away from Pusha T but even he did more than these two woke rappers. People want Biggie and Pac or Jay Z and Nas but these rappers are soft.
It’s funny to see people fight for two puppets just because they sound “lyrical”. Kendrick is a short dude who had to bend the knee to get Grammys after losing to Macklemore and never had an actually beef other randomly mention other rappers verses. J Cole had beef with Diggy Simmons and Lil Pump and couldn’t play pro basketball. Don’t get me started on Drake who ran away from Pusha T but even he did more than these two lame rappers. People want Biggie and Pac or Jay Z and Nas but these rappers are soft.
I always respected Cole. It takes a man to own up to his actions. I don’t understand why so many of our people hate one another? We’re the only people that’s doing the KKK’s job for them. You don’t see this mess in other genres. Ya’ll who disagree with him are some immature and ignorant people.