J. Cole Addresses Apology To Kendrick Lamar In New Freestyle

BY Alexander Cole
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HOT 107.9's Birthday Bash 2023
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JUNE 17: Rapper J. Cole performs onstage during 2023 HOT 107.9's Birthday Bash at State Farm Arena on June 17, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
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J. Cole infamous apologized to Kendrick Lamar, which led to some anger from hip-hop fans. Now, he's talking about it.

After dissing Kendrick Lamar on "7 Minute Drill," J. Cole offered an apology on stage at Dreamville Festival. At the time, some fans discussed this as the weakest move in the history of hip-hop. Fans could not believe what they were hearing and voiced their displeasure immediately.

Drake followed this up by entering the beef on his own terms, only to get wiped out by Kendrick Lamar in a dog fight. Since that time, Cole has been preparing The Fall-Off, and there have been some doubts about his standing in "The Big Three."

With The Fall-Off set to drop on Friday, February 6th, Cole has shocked fans by dropping a brand new EP with four freestyles. Birthday Blizzard '26 is hosted by DJ Clue and can be bought on Cole's website right now. Overall, fans are flocking to the site for good reason.

As it turns out, one of the songs even features some bars about the now-infamous apology. Cole gets very real about the situation, acknowledging he was kicked from the top three. However, he is also saying that his latest body of work will put him right back on top, where he belongs.

J. Cole On The Infamous Apology

"I used to be top, see, the apology dropped me way out of the top 3, no problem, I’m probably my best when they doubt me," he raps. "The top ain’t really what I thought it would be, so I jumped off and landed back at the bottom and restarted at a level where I wasn’t regarded as much, just to climb past them again and tell them all to keep up.”

For fans, this is fantastic. Cole is back dropping freestyles and showing people that he's still got it. If "Disc 2 Track 2" is any indication of what's next, perhaps a classic really is on the horizon. At this moment, we are still parsing through these freestyles, and once again, we're sure there is a lot more to find.

About The Author
Alexander Cole is the current editor-in-chief of HotNewHipHop. He started at HotNewHipHop back in 2018 where he began as a Sports and Sneakers writer. It was here where he began to hone his craft, putting his journalism degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, to good use. Since that time, he has documented some of the biggest stories in the hip-hop world. From the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef to the disturbing allegations against Diddy, Alex has helped HotNewHipHop navigate large-scale stories as they happen. In 2021, he went to the Bahamas for the Big 3's Championship Game. It was here where he got to interview legendary figures like Ice Cube, Clyde Drexler, and Stephen Jackson. He has also interviewed other superstar athletes such as Antonio Brown, Damian Lillard, and Paul Pierce. This is in addition to conversations with social media provocateurs like Jake Paul, and younger respected artists like Kaycyy, Lil Tecca, and Jeleel!

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