Original Artwork Jason Jimenez-Garrido
Chaos ensued just a few weeks ago when Future and Metro Boomin released their new collab album “We Don’t Trust You”, which features Kendrick Lamar dissing his fellow ‘Big Three’ counterparts in his verse. In response, J. Cole has dropped a surprise mixtape that has hip-hop-heads buzzing.
On April 4, 2024, a surprise project entitled “Might Delete Later” was released to all streaming platforms, featuring songs that Cole previewed in his mini documentary series of the same name.
The mixtape features 12 tracks, including one that has fans discussing who’s truly on top of the hip-hop industry.
In the very last track, “7 Minute Drill”, Cole responded to comments made by Lamar in his verse on “Like That.”
In the verse, Lamar says, “F—k sneak dissing, ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches. – Motherf—k the big three, n—a, it’s just big me.” This is directly in reference to Drake and Cole’s song collaboration ‘First Person Shooter’ where Cole boasts about their place, along with Lamar, in the industry.
Cole previously rapped, “Love when they argue the hardest emcee, Is it K. Dot? [Lamar] Is it Aubrey? [Drake] Or me? We the big three like we started a league. ”
Though Cole’s line was clearly a sign of respect towards his two longtime friends, it seems that Lamar did not appreciate being grouped with Drake, with whom he’s had a rivalry for years.
Apart from a couple Instagram captions, Drake has yet to directly respond to the diss. Cole, however was quick to record his rebuttal.
Cole raps “I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing. You want some attention, it comes with extensions,”
He then adds, “Your first s—t [album] was classic, your last s–t was tragic. Your second s–t put n—s to sleep but they gassed it. Your third s–t was massive and that was your prime, I was trailing right behind and I just now hit mine.”
Cole’s diss has already received mixed responses on X, with users speaking out from both ends of the spectrum.
Most believe that Cole’s argument was weak, stating that his own discography doesn’t compare to the quality of Lamar’s, while others think that he held back and his response did not show what he’s truly capable of.
In my opinion, his response indicates that both artists still have respect for each other. Things aren’t personal between the two and, although Cole was mentioned in the diss, Lamar’s main target was Drake.
This is not the first time Cole has been caught in the crossfire of a ‘diss’ from Lamar, who is known for calling out his fellow peers when he feels the industry has lost its edge. Most notable is his 2013 verse on Big Sean and Jay Electronica’s song ‘Control’ where he put the industry on notice.
In the song, he name-drops Drake, Cole, Pusha T, among others, including his collaborators Sean and Electronica.
He added, “What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high, Who tryna jump and get it? You’re better off tryna skydive” which establishes that the verse was to rile up his peers to elevate the competition.
Reason, Lamar’s former Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) label-mate, chimed in on the current back and forth, saying it’s simply competition. In a post on X, he said, “I hope y’all understand this [is a] sport and don’t take it too seriously, at least from dot [Lamar] and Cole. This just gon be friendly sparring. I’m excited to hear both get the s—t off with no real issues! Just rap!”
Time will tell whether there will be more back and forth between the two, and if Drake will ever respond. Though as a fan of hip-hop, it is fun to see these industry giants actively trying to elevate the genre. This ‘beef’ will only help hip-hop maintain its place on the top of the music industry.
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