The newly brewed feud between J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar might be a short-lived one after all!
As we previously told you, the song was a clapback to Kendrick’s perceived diss on Future and Metro Boomin’s new song ‘Like That,’ where Kendrick reportedly threw shots at Cole and Drake.
Well, just days after J. Cole dropped his response, the rapper is now retracting his jab and has issued a formal public apology to Kendrick.
The heartfelt gesture came during his headlining set at his Dreamville Festival in North Carolina on Sunday (April 7).
“I’m so proud of [‘Might Delete Later’], except for one part,” said Cole. “It’s one part of that shit that makes me feel like, man that’s the lamest shit I did in my fuckin’ life, right? And I know this is not what a lot of people want to hear.”
He continued by stating that he felt pressured to publicly respond to Lamar after witnessing the discourse it incited. “I was conflicted because, one I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers, these two n—s that I just been blessed to even stand beside in this game, let alone chase they greatness. So I felt conflicted ’cause I’m like, bruh I don’t even feel no way. But the world wanna see blood. I don’t know if y’all can feel that, but the world wanna see blood.”
Cole explained that releasing the diss “spiritually [felt] bad on me,” and “that shit don’t sit right with my spirit.” “That shit disrupts my fuckin’ peace. So what I want to say right here tonight is in the midst of me doing that and in that shit, trying to find a little angle and downplay this n—a’s fucking catalog and his greatness, I want to say right now tonight, how many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherfucker’s to ever touch a fuckin’ microphone? Dreamville, y’all love Kendrick Lamar, correct? As do I.
“So,” he continued, “I just want to come up here and publicly be like, bruh, that was the lamest, goofiest shit. I say all that to say it made me feel like 10 years ago when I was moving incorrectly. And I pray that god will line me back up on my purpose and on my path, I pray that my n—a really didn’t feel no way and if he did, my n—a, I got my chin out. Take your best shot, I’ma take that shit on the chin boy, do what you do. All good. It’s love. And I pray that y’all are like, forgive a n—a for the misstep and I can get back to my true path. Because I ain’t gonna lie to y’all. The past two days felt terrible. It let me know how good I’ve been sleeping for the past 10 years.”
Lamar’s beef with Cole and Drake stems from “First Person Shooter,” a duet between the two included on Drake’s 2023 album “For All the Dogs.” On it, Cole rapped, “Love when they argue the hardest MC / Is it K. Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? / We the big three, like we started a league.” On “Like That,” Lamar uncharacteristically fired back, getting right to the point: “Yeah get up with me, fuck sneak dissing / ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches,” he stated. “Motherfuck the big three, n—a, it’s just big me.”
via
We love to see it! No word from Kendrick since the release of the song, or Sunday’s apology.
