Daylyt recently opened up about a conversation he had with J. Cole following the release of Cole’s Kendrick Lamar diss track, “7 Minute Drill.”
The track, which had caused a stir online, was quickly pulled from streaming platforms after Cole issued an apology to Lamar. Daylyt, appearing on TDE affiliate Mackwop’s livestream last week, shared insights into Cole’s decision to retract the song and the thought process behind it.
“Right before everything went down, I spoke to Cole, and we had a deep conversation about it,” Daylyt began. “He told me, ‘This isn’t sitting right with me. Me and Dot are cool—really cool—outside of music.’ He compared it to slap-boxing, where things can escalate too quickly and turn into something serious. He didn’t want it to spiral into a real feud.”
Cole expressed regret over his approach, admitting that he might have overreacted to Kendrick’s subtle jab. “‘All he said was, ‘Big three is just me,’” Cole explained to Daylyt. “‘I didn’t need to respond with a full song. I could’ve kept it subliminal instead of going all in.’”
Daylyt advised him to follow his instincts and let go of the energy surrounding the track. “If it’s not sitting right with you, then it’s time to let it go,” Daylyt told him. He also clarified that Cole’s decision wasn’t about fear of competition but staying true to his principles.
The very next day, Cole removed the track, a move that surprised even Daylyt. “I didn’t think he’d take it to the level of retracting it publicly, but I respect him for doing that,” he said.
J. Cole later addressed the situation and his broader thoughts on rap beefs in his surprise track “Port Antonio.” The song marked his first public commentary since stepping back from his brief feud with Kendrick earlier this year.
In “Port Antonio,” Cole raps about his decision to withdraw, saying, “I pulled the plug because I seen where that was ’bout to go / They wanted blood, they wanted clicks to make they pockets grow / They see this fire in my pen and think I’m dodgin’ smoke / I wouldn’t have lost a battle, dawg, I woulda lost a bro.”
He also condemned the industry’s obsession with sensationalism and took aim at the online culture that amplifies conflict.
The track samples Lonnie Liston Smith’s “A Garden of Peace,” famously used in Jay-Z’s “Dead Presidents,” as well as Cleo Sol’s “Know That You Are Loved,” which was recently featured on Big Sean’s “Boundaries.” With its introspective lyrics and soulful production, “Port Antonio” showcases Cole’s refusal to compromise his integrity, even in the face of industry pressure.
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