J. Cole Reveals How He Really Feels About Drake & Kendrick Lamar

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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J Cole Reveals How He Really Feels About Drake Kendrick Lamar
Feb 17, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; Recording artist J Cole during the 2019 NBA All-Star Game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images
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J. Cole's participation in the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle was one of the most divisive moments of his career.

J. Cole recently sat down in his childhood home at 2014 Forest Hills Drive in Fayetteville, North Carolina with Apple Music's Nadeska Alexis. In this interview, they discuss his new album The Fall-Off, his career trajectory, his personal passions and career loves, and the fallout from his participation in the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle two years ago.

In a clip from the YouTube video caught by us on Twitter, Cole explained his relationship with his "Big Three" colleagues. "I admire these dudes, I got genuine love for these dudes," he remarked. "I hate to see the world s**t on either one of them in defense of the other. Even saying it out loud is a little silly."

Elsewhere, J. Cole spoke on apologizing to Kendrick Lamar at the 2024 Dreamville Fest. This was after he dissed K.Dot on "7 Minute Drill," and Drizzy's response to Kendrick's "Like That" shots for both came a few weeks later.

"It hit me an hour before [his set]," the Dreamville MC remarked, as we caught on Twitter. "Before that, I was stressing the f**k out. The moment the idea came to me, I lifted. And I got light, and I got so excited because two or three days before that, it was... This is terrible. I felt like I misrepresented myself. I'm giving life to division and to negative storylines and negative perceptions on somebody that I f**k with and got love for, somebody that I care about... We know why that happened in the first place.

Have Kendrick Lamar & Drake Responded To J. Cole?

"That s**t had me feeling terrible... I can't really say it made sense," he continued. "But in a moment when I wasn't clear, I chose to go this way... I felt miserable about it... An hour before, I was like, 'Aha.' [...] [His wife] saw how it was weighing on me... I felt even better than I felt knowing I was going to [apologize]."

As for Kendrick Lamar and Drake, they haven't spoken out about J. Cole's recent remarks on the beef, whether in interviews or on wax. We will see if that changes soon, adding more dimensions to this historic moment.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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