J. Cole stunned fans on Sunday night after walking back his Kendrick Lamar diss with some going so far as to proclaim the death of Hip-Hop.
During his headlining set, he expressed regret for dissing Lamar and vowed to pull the song from his latest project, Might Delete Later.
He admitted that firing at K.Dot gave him sleepless nights and even urged Lamar to “take ya best shot I’ma take it on the chin.” He added, “That was the lamest, goofiest s### […] That s### don’t sit right with my spirit.”
Cole also said that his own team didn’t want him to apologize. He acknowledged, “This is not what a lot of people want to hear.”
Well, he was right, as many fans were furious with Cole’s retraction. “Damn Cole” and “Might Delete Later” was trending on X (formerly Twitter), with fans joking that the Dreamville founder fulfilled his promise.
One disgruntled fan referenced 50 Cent’s antics in Hip-Hop beefs, claiming he didn’t do all that “for J Cole to apologize to Kendrick for a mid diss track.”
Others quoted Lamar’s “The Heart Part 4” which includes the lyrics:
“My fans can’t wait for me to son ya punk ass and crush your whole lil s###/I’ll Big Pun ya punk ass, you a scared little b####/Tiptoein’ around my name, n####, ya lame/And when I get at you, homie, don’t you just tell me you was just playin’.”
However, a few fans were kinder to Cole, empathizing with his speech.
“My goat can’t even fake the beef. I have to stan forever. I love this man,” one fan wrote.
Meanwhile, others, including battle rapper Nu Jerzey Twork, called out Drizzy to respond. “I Need Drake To Slide ASAP,” he wrote.
Is Drake Gearing Up To Diss Kendrick Lamar?
Drake recently whipped up hysteria with a post on his Instagram Story. He shared a photo of the Larry O’Brien trophy alongside a notebook and pen, prompting fans to speculate he’s ready to respond to Lamar.
Check out some other reactions to Cole’s Kendrick Lamar apology below.