J. Cole's conversations as of late have touched on topics like his possible retirement and The Fall-Off itself. But given his involvement in the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef and how he exited the feud, that's been an area in which interviewers have wanted to hear more about.
As most of you remember, Cole backed out of the battle after dropping and then deleting "7 Minute Drill." He then decided it was right to apologize onstage during the 2024 edition of his Dreamville Festival.
But what many of you may not know is that J. Cole was working on getting Drake and Kendrick to perform that same year.
In his sit-down with Carmelo Anthony's podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn, he confirmed the rumors to be true. He explains that this was the goal prior to Lamar's appearance on "Like That." Of course, that didn't wind up happening, and ultimately, it was for the best.
J. Cole even says as much in the clip caught by our social media page. "Had [Drake] come, I would've felt more pressure to be onstage representing that energy."
J. Cole On Kendrick Lamar Apology
The North Carolina hitmaker also reveals that Drake told him personally. "'Yo, bro. I didn't want to come down there and put you in a situation on that stage and say some sh*t that you would have to stand behind.'"
It seems like that gave J. Cole the chance to speak on how he truly felt about the beef and how he didn't want to engage further. In his interview with Nadeska Alexis, he explained that it was a stressful and emotional time for him after dissing Kendrick.
"[The idea] hit me about an hour before [I went out on stage at Dreamville Fest]. In that moment, I felt lifted and I got light and I got excited. Because the two or three days before that, I was stressing the f*ck out. I felt like I had misrepresented myself. I was giving life to division and to negative storylines about somebody that I f*ck with and I got love for and care about. That sh*t had me feeling terrible. I was like, 'This sh*t don’t feel right' … I felt miserable about it."
