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Following the release of his seventh studio album, The Fall Off, J. Cole sat down for an interview with Nadeska of Apple Music. One of the topics that was discussed was his involvement in the rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
J. Cole Defends Decision to Apologize to Kendrick Lamar
Cole fired the initial shot in the rap feud that is still making headlines today. But chose to bow out of the beef before Kendrick could respond to him. This led to him receiving a lot of backlash from fans.
Cole said that he chose to do so because he felt that he “misrepresented” himself by getting involved.
“I felt like I misrepresented myself, you know what I mean?” he said. “All of a sudden, I’m giving life to division and negative storylines, negative perceptions on somebody that I f**k with and got love for.”
J. Cole speaks on his involvement in the beef with Kendrick Lamar and Drake, opening up about why he chose to apologize at Dreamville Fest in 2024:
— HotNewHipHop (@HotNewHipHop) March 20, 2026
"It hit me an hour before. But before that, I was stressing the f*ck out… Two or three days before that, it was like, 'Nah, this… pic.twitter.com/DUwLuuRSrh
Kendrick took exception to Cole’s calling himself Kendrick and Drake the “Big 3” on First Person Shooter. So he fired back on Like That, noting that he stood alone on the mountaintop. Cole made his stance clear when he dropped Seven Minute Drill, which aimed at Lamar. However, shortly after dropping the freestyle, the YouTube link quickly disappeared. And the following night, Cole apologized to Kendrick during his Dreamville Festival in April 2024.
Cole also addressed the backlash for his decision on his Birthday Blizzard 2026 Mixtape, which dropped in January.
Cole says that being dropped in the rankings by those critics is the sweet spot where he prefers to be.
“I used to be top, see, the apology dropped me way out of the top 3, no problem, I’m probably my best when they doubt me,” he raps on the song (via Kurrco/X).
At the time of writing, neither Kendrick nor Drake has responded to the recent comments made by J. Cole.
