J. Cole’s exit from the long-awaited rap battle between him, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake has received mixed reviews. In a new interview with Jay Shetty, Hip-Hop veteran Fat Joe said J. Cole made a huge mistake bowing out of the anticipated battle and apologizing to Kendrick Lamar after dissing him on his latest EP, Might Delete Later.
While discussing hip-hop’s beef history, Fat Joe referred to his past beef with 50 Cent to explain his thoughts on J. Cole. “I had one of the biggest, most dangerous beefs with 50 Cent, and I was sitting next to him at the game yesterday, having the best time in the world,” said Joe at 1:11:03 on the Jay Shetty Podcast. “We’re brothers. When you’re called out in Hip Hop, you gotta respond. I’m a big fan of J. Cole, but it started from that.”
He continued: “He probably saw that it could get real messy and real ugly and so he said, ‘Yo, you know this ain’t me I don’t want no parts of it,’” he added. “But he definitely got a stripe off … They took a stripe off that because in Hip Hop, when they call you out, you come out.”
J. Cole apologized to Kendrick Lamar in April during his annual Dreamville Festival. The apology received reactions from hip-hop. Kendrick Lamar sparked reactions from J. Cole and Drake after releasing his verse that addressed the “Big 3” on Future and Metro Boomin’ hit song “Like That.”
Since the apology, J. Cole has released several collaborations, including Cash Cobain and Bas. He is set to release his anticipated album, The Fall Off, in 2024.
In other news, J. Cole went viral on social media last week over a debate comparing his catalog to Vince Staples.