J. Cole Breaks Silence on Kendrick Lamar Apology: “I Misrepresented Myself”
J. Cole is finally putting context behind one of hip-hop’s most debated moments, his public apology to Kendrick Lamar during.their "almost" beef, and the reasoning is deeper than rap beef.
In a new interview with Apple's Nadeska Alexis, the Dreamville founder reflects on his decision to fall back from entering the explosive Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud, followed by his own dis record aimed at Kendrick, revealing that the apology was personal situation for him.
“I felt like I misrepresented myself,” Cole told Nadeska. "It's like all of a sudden I'm giving life to division and to a negative to negative, uh storylines, or negative perceptions on somebody that I f**k with and got love for. Somebody that I like cared about."
"So an hour before it was like, 'A-ha!' Like yo, in a very loud manner, you know, on a very public forum on your album, you said some s**t you didn't believe in. Now you got an opportunity to go on a bigger forum...and say something that you believe in. And in that moment, I'm like, 'Thank you, God,'" said Cole. “Before that, I was stressing. The moment the idea came to me, I lifted.”
Cole made it clear that his move wasn’t about backing down, it was about alignment. He emphasized his admiration for both Kendrick Lamar and Drake, rejecting the pressure to hop in one of hip-hop’s most intense rivalries in the history of rap.
“I got genuine love for these dudes. I hate to see the world tear one down for the other.”
That mindset ultimately led him to pull “7 Minute Drill” from streaming platforms entirely and step out of the feud altogether.
In the aftermath of those moves Cole was subjected to heavy criticism, many calling him soft and outright dismissing his much acclaimed praise for his art of rap, ducking out on a battle with a fierce MC.
While Cole may not escape the wrath of critics following his explanation in the interview with Apple, the most important factor is the North Carolina MC is free now that he's expressed himself.
"I told my wife, I ain't tell no body else. I said this is what im about to go do" Cole reflected on that hour before taking the stage. "I'm like, this is what I'm about to go do. She starts crying. Cause she know how I feel about him. She knows. And she saw how it was weighing on me the two, three days before that. She could see in my whole energy. And she would even ask me. And I would be like 'I just got a lot going on right now.' So when I go do it, I felt even better than when I knew I was going to do it. If you would have seen me that night. Man! ... I feel amazing. Cause now I know the world knows how I really actually feel."
