J. Cole has finally opened up about Drake and Kendrick Lamar‘s beef in his first series of interviews since he controversially bowed out of the high-profile rap battle.
Sitting down with Apple Music’s Nadeska Alexis for one of many in-depth conversations about his latest album The Fall-Off, the Dreamville star explained why he apologized to Kendrick for his since-deleted diss track “7 Minute Drill.”
“[The idea] hit me about an hour before [I went out on stage at Dreamville Fest],” he said. “In that moment, I felt lifted and I got light and I got excited. Because the two or three days before that, I was stressing the fuck out. I felt like I had misrepresented myself. I was giving life to division and to negative storylines about somebody that I fuck with and I got love for and care about.
“That shit had me feeling terrible. I was like, ‘This shit don’t feel right’ … I felt miserable about it.”
Cole also revealed that his wife “started crying” when he told her that he was going to make peace with Kendrick because “she knows how I feel about him and she saw how it was weighing on me the two or three days before that.”
The North Carolina native went on to admit that he was aware of the widespread backlash over his decision to wave the white flag, and while he doesn’t regret his actions, the criticism did make a dent in his confidence.
“The world didn’t give a fuck [about how great I felt after the apology] and they were fucking me up — my name, my reputation. Although the lightness that I felt made it easier to deal with, over time I had to process that shit and I had to get right,” he said.
“It always felt like the right move, but there were times where I thought, ‘Damn, n*gga, you’re fucking done right now. It’s over!’ That brought up emotions and fears that I had to sit with and fight.”
Cole added that it was hard to block out the noise because “every other muthafucking video” he came across on YouTube was about him. “I knew it was bad because people were calling and texting to check on me like, ‘You good, bro?’” he joked.
In a separate interview with Cam’ron, which puts their bizarre legal battle to bed, J. Cole opened up about his current relationship with both Drake and Kendrick Lamar now that the dust has settled on their 2024 showdown.
“I’m in the same place where I genuinely love these n*ggas, but I’m not gonna act like we’ve been communicating and talking,” he said. “I’ve had conversations with them post everything but not, like, a lot. That’s me not knowing where they’re at.”
He added: “I genuinely love these n*ggas. I be wanting to shoot off a text. Even saying that on the mic is kinda lame to me, but it is my truth.”
The 41-year-old also expressed “disgust” at the intense division between Drake and Kendrick’s respective fanbases, as well as the level of hate that Drizzy has faced since losing the battle.
“Right away, the world became like politics — you either Democrat or Republican; you either Kendrick or Drake. You gotta pick a side,” he dismayed. “Creatively, it’ not my place to say [whether it got out of hand]. But to me it’s disgusting how people tried to use that opportunity to either show how they really felt about Drake the whole time or just pile on and tear this dude down and create a narrative as if he’s not great. It was a whole campaign, and probably still is to this day.”
Cole did, however, congratulate Kendrick on the enormous success he has enjoyed after emerging victorious over Drake, even if it has come at the expense of his “First Person Shooter” collaborator.
“When I saw Kendrick get the moment he had — the Pop Out, the stadium, the Super Bowl, the Grammys — I’m just as proud of this n*gga as I was when I knew him back then,” he said. “But I also hate that for Drake and I hate how the world has turned on him. Simulatenously, I’m also like, ‘I hope Iceman goes crazy!’”
Snippets of J. Cole and Cam’ron’s conversation can be seen below. The full interview airs Tuesday (March 24) at 10pm ET on REVOLT and Wednesday (March 25) at 5pm ET on YouTube.
