J. Cole Apologizes For Kendrick Lamar “7 Minute Drill” Diss Track

• The North Carolina rapper relayed his feelings during his 2024 Dreamville Festival closing set.

J. Cole has officially walked back his recent Kendrick Lamar diss. During his closing set at the fourth annual Dreamville Festival on Sunday (April 7), the North Carolina rapper addressed how he regrets releasing his “7 Minute Drill” track, which debuted on his Might Delete Later project just two days prior.

“I damn near had a relapse… Y’all heard that bazooka that was dropped on the game, right?” he said to a sea of festival attendees. He was referencing K. Dot’s blockbuster “Like That” verse, where Lamar took aim at Drake and Cole. The “No Role Modelz” rapper then explained how he felt pressured into responding, adding, “For the first time, I was tested. I got the world and I got my n**gas saying, ‘What you gon’ do Cole?’”

J. Cole also expressed his appreciation for Drizzy and Kendrick, and he confirmed he had no actual beef with the latter in the first place. “I was conflicted because, I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers, these two n**gas that I’m blessed to even stand beside in this game and let alone chase their greatness. I felt conflicted because I know I don’t really feel no way. But the world want to see blood,” he said. “I moved in a way that, spiritually, I feel bad.”

Elsewhere in his speech, he said Kendrick is one of the “greatest to ever touch a mic” and he’s prepared for K. Dot’s next step. “That was the lamest, goofiest sh*t… I pray that God aligns me back on my purpose and on my path,” he continued. “I pray that my n**ga didn’t really feel no way. And if he did, my n**ga I got my chin out. Take your best shot, I’ma take that sh*t on the chin. Boy, do what you do. All good.”

The monologue ends with the Born Sinner spitter focusing on a positive future. “I pray that y’all forgive a n**ga for the misstep and I could get back to my true path… So all of that to say, I want to perform the song that’s a reminder to me of getting on the right path and getting in tune with God,” he concluded before performing “Love Yourz.”

Watch the full speech below.

Source: Vibe Magazine