The highly publicized lyrical battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake in 2024 almost began as a three-way feud, with J. Cole initially in the mix. Fans were quick to express their disappointment when the emcee opted to step back from the showdown. However, as Kendrick Lamar delivered a series of devastating blows to Drake in real time, public sentiment shifted, with many concluding that Cole’s decision to bow out was a wise one.
And the married father of two sons hasn’t been heard from since.
Cole dropped a new single titled “Port Antonio,” which has nearly a million views in less than 24 hours after its release. On the track, Cole addressed Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s culture-shifting beef this past spring.
Cole finally speaks on the Kendrick Lamar-Drake battle
On the track Cole spits, “I pulled the plug because I seen where that was about to go/they wanted blood/they wanted clicks to make they pockets grow” Cole began.
The verse continued: “I wouldn’t have lost the battle, dog, I would’ve lost a bro, I would’ve gained a foe, and all for what?/ Jermaine is no king, if that means I gotta dig up dirt and pay the whole team of algorithm bot n—–s just to sway the whole thing on social media, competing for ya favorable memes.”
Later in the song, Cole speaks directly to Drizzy.
“Hey Drake, you’ll always be my n—-/ I ain’t ashamed to say you did a lot for me, my n—.”
Drake seemingly reacted to the lyrics as he “liked” J. Cole’s post on Instagram.
Lamar previously addressed why he backed out
Back in May 2024, Cole angered a multitude of rap loyalists when he dropped a heat-seeking missile of a diss song, “7 Minute Drill” that tried to peel off Lamar’s scalp. But then Cole renounced the song on stage just a few days after its release.
“I felt conflicted ’cause I’m like, bruh I know I don’t really feel a way. But the world wanna see blood … so I say all of that to say, in my spirit of trying to get this music out, I moved in a way that spiritually feels bad on me,” Cole explained.
“I tried to jab my n—- back, and I tried to keep it friendly. But at the end of the day, when I listen to it and when it comes out and I see the talk, that s— don’t sit right with my spirit.”
