J. Cole, YouTube screenshot/Kendrick Lamar, YouTube screenshot
In the world of Hip-Hop, where lyrical feuds often take center stage, J. Cole decided to publicly apologize and retract his diss track aimed at fellow artist Kendrick Lamar, which has resonated deeply within the Black community.
The artist‘s move, which he announced during his headlining performance at the Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, was met with widespread support, The New York Times reported.
The beef between J. Cole and Lamar began with a verse exchange that started last October when J. Cole and Drake ranked themselves, with Lamar, as the “big three” on Drake’s song “First Person Shooter.” Lamar later dismissed this comparison in March during a guest verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s track “Like That,” asserting that there was no “big three,” only “big me.”
In response to Lamar’s dismissal, J. Cole released the diss track “7 Minute Drill” on his surprise album “Might Delete Later,” taking aim at Lamar. It includes the lines: “I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing / You want some attention, it come with extensions / He still doing shows but fell off like ‘The Simpsons.’”However, following the backlash and introspection, J. Cole expressed regret and pledged to update or remove the track from streaming services, saying that the song didn’t align with his values.
During his recent performance, J. Cole spoke highly of Lamar, describing him as one of the “greatest” to ever use a microphone and made a public apology.
Black Twitter spoke on the subject, though many Hip-Hop artists have yet to comment, XXL reported.
The Breakfast Club’s Charlamagne tha God even had something to say about the apology.
Kollege Kidd tweeted along with a video of Charlamagne tha God speaking on the topic, “Charlamagne tha God says he respects J. Cole for apologizing to Kendrick Lamar ‘It takes a real human to check himself. …Y’all want a man to attack a man for your entertainment because we are a culture that feeds off conflict.’”
Dee-1 tweeted tha Hip-Hop can be slow to change, “There’s still lots of resistance to growth inside of hip hop! Alotta toxic mindsets that need maturing. But the time is now. Big salute to @JColeNC for this. If you agree, make sure you join us by signing the Platinum Pledge as well.”
“Craig’s VCR tweeted, “I actually respect J Cole for admitting that he doesn’t want to beef with his friend. He reflected, took accountability, apologized and wants to move forward I know all of that is probaly foreign to people who thrive off of negativity though.”
The X user later tweeted, “You can’t let people put a battery in your back to do things that don’t really feel right in your spirit. People will use your life as entertainment if you let them but at the end of the day the only person that has to live with your actions is you.”
Ill duval noted the beef wasn’t a violent one, tweeting, “The whole reason we liked the Kendrick and j Cole beef was because we knew it was friendly competition. Nobody saw it as bad energy or negative so foh wit that narrative”
bomani tweeted he didnt really seem to buy J. Cole’s apology, “j. cole isn’t too mature for a song called “hide your bitch.” his soul can live with that. but a battle is a bridge too far. but i’m trippin.”
J. Cole, YouTube screenshot, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WILNIXZr2oc/Kendrick Lamar, YouTube screenshot, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toBTPGfurLc
