At the Dreamville Festival, J. Cole addressed the crowd, expressing regret over his decision to release a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar amidst their ongoing feud. He specifically mentioned his new album “Might Delete Later” and admitted feeling proud of it overall, except for one aspect.
Reflecting on the track “7 Minute Drill” from the album, Cole confessed that it made him feel ashamed, describing it as “the lamest sh*t I did in my f**king life.”
He opened up about experiencing a sense of regret and almost succumbing to a relapse in the past two days, which highlighted how well he had been sleeping for the past decade.
In “7 Minute Drill,” Cole took shots at Lamar with lyrics like “He averagin’ one hard verse like every 30 months or somethin’” and “He still doin’ shows, but fell off like the Simpsons.”
This move came after their rivalry escalated last October following Drake and Cole’s collaboration on “First Person Shooter,” where they hinted at being the “big three” of hip-hop alongside Lamar.
Lamar responded in March, notably stating in Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” that there was no big three, “just big me.”
This echoed his verse on Big Sean’s 2013 “Control,” where he named his fellow rappers, expressing a competitive spirit rather than disdain for their talent.
Cole’s apology at the festival aimed to seek forgiveness for his “misstep” and return to his true path. He acknowledged Lamar’s greatness, asking the crowd if they considered him one of the greatest to ever touch a microphone, which was met with resounding cheers.
Despite their rivalry, Cole and Lamar have collaborated before, alongside Drake, solidifying their status as influential figures in hip-hop. All three artists have garnered multiple Grammy Awards, with Lamar even receiving the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 2018, a historic achievement for non-classical or jazz musicians.
