J. Cole Admits Confusion Over Kendrick Lamar's Drake Diss, Hopes They Reunite

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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J Cole Confusion Kendrick Lamar Drake Diss Hopes They Reunite
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 27: J. Cole performs onstage during Lil Baby & Friends Birthday Celebration at State Farm Arena on December 27, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage/Getty Images)
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J. Cole admitted his Kendrick Lamar apology dilutes his beef takes, but he doesn't understand why Kendrick felt like Drake "did Cole foul."

J. Cole unpacked a lot on his recent press run, whose most recent stop was on the 7PM In Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony. During his appearance, he talked extensively about the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle. Cole communicated confusion over a specific Kendrick diss to Drizzy, admitted his apology to K.Dot undercuts his perspective on hip-hop battles, and expressed hope that the "Poetic Justice" duo will bury the hatchet one day.

As caught by NFR Podcast on Instagram, the Dreamville artist said that he would love if his "Big Three" colleagues peace it up one day. However, he's skeptical as to the possibility of that actually happening one day. Only time will tell... Even if it's unlikely.

More specifically, No Jumper shared a clip of the podcast on IG in which Cole speaks on the following "Not Like Us" bar: "Did Cole foul, I don't know why you still pretending." He said that he doesn't know why Lamar said that, so he can't help fans in solving that mystery. Of course, everyone has their theories as to what the Compton rapper meant.

J. Cole's Take On Rap Beef

Still, J. Cole's assessments of Drake and Kendrick Lamar are self-admittedly tainted by his apology. "I feel unqualified," he said, as caught by DJ Akademiks on Instagram. "You're talking about the person that apologized. That's what's gon' go down as my participation in that event. If I had my shoes on the other feet of somebody else, I don't want to hear my opinion on whether I think beef is good or bad for hip-hop. Honestly, who gives a f**k, actually? Definitely, who gives a f**k about my opinion?"

"I'm not interested in giving that to the world, and I doubt they're interested in hearing it," Cole continued. "I can only speak on how I felt at the time... It wasn't foresight, it was hindsight, if anything. [...] I had no clue how that s**t was gon' go... It outdid anything I could've imagined in terms of how tense that s**t got and how entertaining it got to the world."

We will see if either Kendrick Lamar or Drake do a press run of their own.

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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