FANS of Hip-Hop star J Cole were left livid this weekend after the American rapper apologised to rap rival Kendrick Lamar at his own music festival.
The German-born rapper, 39, stunned the audience when he made a public apology to arch rap rival Kendrick, 36, at his annual Dreamville festival in his hometown of North Carolina.
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He told festival-goers: “You all love Kendrick Lamar, correct? As do I.
“I want to stand up here to say to Kendrick I am sorry. I am not going to continue to downplay his [Kendrick Lamar’s] greatness.”
He then said his diss track, 7 Minute Drill, taken from his mixtape album Might Delete Later, was “lame”.
The Grammy-award winner continued: “I am proud of the Might Delete Later.
“But the song [7 Minute Drill], is the lamest thing I’ve done in my life.”
He continued: “To Kendrick, I apologise. I know this is not what a lot of people want to hear.”
The North Carolina-native guessed correctly.
Fans stormed social media to announce their fury at the long-standing rap battle’s potential end.
One furious fan posted a comment on X formerly known as twitter, telling social media users: “Apologising on stage at your own festival, what happened to the Hip-Hop I love?”
Another disgruntled fan echoed a similar sentiment, tweeting: “I’m definitely disappointed as a J.Cole fan with that apology.
The social media user continued: “I wish we could bring back the Tupac & Biggie era, but without any violence. Just a pen and a microphone.”
Other supporters of the rapper had a different perspective, commending the Dreamville-artist for extending an olive branch, commenting: “J Cole is 39. He doesn’t feel like being in a pointless rap beef. HE DOESN’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS. I’m with him 1000%.”
While some Kendrick fans appeared to doubt the intention behind the apology, other fans took to Instagram to accept it on the behalf of their music hero.
One said: “Now J Cole and Kendrick fans can come together and unite. I want to hear a joint album!!
The two music titans have had a complicated history, often trading subliminal insults at each other for years.
DRAKE’S INVOLVMENT
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In 2012, Canadian rap star Drake, 37, gave Kendrick a leg up in the industry by asking him to open on his Club Paradise Tour.
The rappers would collaborate with each other twice that same year, first on Drake’s Take Care album and then as featured guest artists on A$AP Rocky’s Grammy-nominated song Problems.
But the friendship would be short-lived.
When Kendrick found solo success with his 2013 debut album, Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, he followed it up with a guest verse on Detroit rapper Big Sean’s song Control that called out Drake and fellow rappers Meek Mill, Pusha T and Mac Miller.
Kendrick sent a warning to the rappers on the song, saying: “I got love for you all, but I’m trying to [lyrically] murder you.”
Drake then made a rare move by responding to the diss in a 2013 Billboard Magazine article.
He said: “It [Kendrick’s verse] just sounded like an ambitious thought to me.
“That’s all it was. I know good and well that Kendrick’s not [lyrically] murdering me, at all, on any platform.
“So when that day presents itself, I guess we can revisit the topic.”
Why did Kendrick diss J Cole?
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Drake then enlisted J Cole on his eighth studio album For All The Dogs in October last year.
The album included a song called First Person Shooter, and Cole’s verse appeared to be a nod to unity between the three rappers.
He called himself, Drake and Kendrick the “big three”, but Kendrick responded on a song titled Like That, and said Cole was “a light pack”.
The rap star also made comparisons between another iconic feud of yesteryear: Michael Jackson and Prince.
Kendrick said he was the ‘Prince’ of the battle.
Drake waded in again, and responded to Kendrick’s dig in Florida last month.
He said on stage: “I know that no matter what, it’s not a person on this ‘What’s Kendrick’s beef with Drake and J Cole? Earth that could ever mess with me in my life.”
J Cole then delivered a fresh batch of insults addressing Kendrick’s verse in a song called 7 Minute Drill on recent album Might Delete Later.
He penned in his lyrics: “Somebody’s dissing. You want some attention. He’s still doing shows but fell off like The Simpsons.” In addition to this, Cole calls Kendrick’s most recent album, 2022’s Mr Morale and the Big Steppers, “tragic”, before warning Kendrick that he would “humble him.”
Sunday’s apology at the Dreamville Festival appears to be a timely offering in the seemingly on-going feud between the rappers.
Key moments of J Cole and Kendrick Lamar Feud
The complicated history of J Cole and Kendrick Lamar’s rap feud
2012: Kendrick opened up for Drake on his Club Paradise Tour back in 2012.
2013: In 2013, Kendrick dropped a guest verse on Big Sean’s Control, where he called out Drake, along with rappers Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Pusha T and J Cole. Informing all: “I got love for you you all but I’m trying to [lyrically] murder you.”
Drake responded later on that year, affirming “I know good and well that [Kendrick] is not murdering me, at all, in any platform.”
2023: The beef appears to have come to ahead when J Cole referred to himself, Drake and Kendrick as the “Big 3” on last years collaborative song with Drake, called First Person Shooter.
Kendrick responded last month, on rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin’s collaborative song, Like That’, stating: “there’s no big three- it’s just big me.”
The LA rapper also called J Cole’s verses mediocre, referring to them as “a light pack.”
March 2024: Drake seemingly addressed the Kendrick verse in concert in Florida last month, telling the audience: “I know no matter what, it’s a not a person on this ‘What’s Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake and J Cole? earth that could ever with mess with me in my life.”
A few weeks later, J Cole dissed Kendrick on a track called 7 Minute Drill on his recent album Might Delete Later, where he accused the LA rapper of ‘falling off’.
April 2024: J Cole issues an apology to Kendrick Lamar, on stage at his annual festival Dreamville.
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