J. Cole Addresses Kendrick Lamar and Drake Rap Battle on New Song, Says He ‘Would’ve Lost a Bro’ If He Didn’t Back Out

Six months after responding to Lamar’s ‘Like That’ verse and promptly apologizing, Cole attempts to mediate between the dueling rappers on “Port Antonio”

Drake at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards; J. Cole at the 69th NBA All-Star Game; Kendrick Lamar at the 2017 BET Awards. Photo: Jeff Kravitz/BBMA2019/FilmMagic; Kevin Mazur/Getty; Johnny Nunez/Getty

Six months after joining — and almost immediately exiting — the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, J. Cole is rapping about why he made that decision.

Cole, 39, released a new song “Port Antonio” in which he addresses the explosive feud that saw several alarming accusations to be made between the two rappers. After declaring on Drake’s “First Person Shooter” that the current Big Three in rap is him, Drake, and Lamar, K. Dot responded with a fiery verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” declaring, “F— sneak dissin’, first-person shooter /I hope they came with three switches… Motherf— the big three, n—-, it’s just big me.”

Before Drake could respond, Cole fired back with “7 Minute Drill” on the surprise project Might Delete Later. In the song, he takes aim at Lamar’s discography, rapping, “Your first s— was classic, your last s— was tragic / Your second s— put n—– to sleep, but they gassed it / Your third s— was massive and that was your prime,” and calling the song a “warning shot.”

Two days later, Cole took to the stage at his annual Dreamville Fest in North Carolina to apologize for the diss. “I’m so proud of that project except for one part,” he said. “One part of that s— makes me feel like that’s the lamest s— I ever did in my f—ing life.” He promptly took the diss off of streaming services.

On “Port Antonio,” the North Carolina emcee attempts to mediate the tension between the two now that the feud has lulled. “I can see hate in both of your eyes but the third’s blind,” Cole raps. “They instigate the f—ery because it’s profitable / But singin’ ‘stop the violence’ tunes when dudes in hospitals.”

He also explains further why he took a step back, saying, “I pulled the plug because I’ve seen where that was ’bout to go /They wanted blood, they wanted clicks to make they pockets grow / They see this fire in my pen and think I’m dodgin’ smoke / I wouldn’t have lost a battle, dawg, I woulda lost a bro / I woulda gained a foe, and all for what? / Just to attain some mo’ props from strangers that don’t got a clue what I been aimin’ for?”

Cole also addresses the accusations of domestic violence Drake, 37, launched against Lamar, 37, In “Family Matters” which was met with accusations of pedophilia on Lamar’s hit “Not Like Us,” rapping, “Protecting legacies, so lines got crossed, perhaps regrettably / My friends went to war, I walked away with all they blood on me.”

J Cole at the 2024 Dreaville Music Festival in Raleigh in April 2024.Prince Williams/FilmMagic

The “G.O.M.D.” rapper then calls out Drake by name, saying, “You’ll always be my n—-/ I ain’t ashamed to say you did a lot for me, my n—-.” He also implores the Canadian rapper to tap back into his “magic pen… Remindin’ these folks why we do it, it’s not for beefin’/ It’s for speakin’ our thoughts, pushin’ ourselves, reachin’ the charts.”

The highly publicized rap beef saw Drake, Lamar and even Rick Ross at one point trading jabs at each other. After a Drake diss, “Push Ups,” leaked online, the “Find Your Love” rapper also unleashed “Taylor Made Freestyle” which controversially featured AI verses from fellow California legends Snoop Dogg and Tupac scolding Lamar. The diss was removed days later after Tupac’s estate threatened a lawsuit.

Almost a month after the beef ignited with “Like That,” Lamar responded with “Euphoria” where he raps, “Somebody had told that me you got a ring, on God, I’m ready to double the wage / I rather do that, than let a Canadian n—- make Pac turn in his grave.” The Compton emcee followed it up with “6:16 in LA,” a nod to Drake’s timestamp songs (and produced by Jack Antonoff), calling Drake a “terrible person.”

Kendrick Lamar at the 2017 VMAs and Drake at the Top Boy premiere.Matt Baron/Shutterstock; Mike Marsland/WireImage

After Drake dropped “Family Matters,” Lamar responded with “Meet the Grahams” less than half an hour later, addressing every member of Drake’s family, accusing him of having a secret daughter, and claiming the “Passionfruit” rapper got cosmetic work done. Only a day later, Lamar released “Not Like Us,” an unexpected summer dance hit that accuses Drake of pedophilia. “Baka got a weird case, why is he around?” he asks, referring to OVO Records associate Baka Not Nice who was reportedly charged with sex trafficking, although the charges were later dropped. He then goes on to call Drake “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophile.”

Drake would then shut down the pedophile accusations, rapping, “If I was f—ing young girls, I promise I’d have been arrested/ I’m way too famous for this s— you just suggested,” on “The Heart Part 6.” He also suggests he purposefully gave Lamar and his camp fake information: “We plotted for a week and then we fed you the information/ A daughter that’s 11 years old, I bet he takes it / We thought about giving a fake name or a destination/ But you so thirsty, you not concerned with investigation.” The track, as well as “Family Matters,” would be taken off Drake’s Instagram a month later.

While Drake has not addressed the feud since deleting the Instagram posts in June, Lamar is still riding off the success of “Not Like Us,” most recently playing “Not Like Us” several times at his sold-out Juneteenth concert and dropping the official video a month later.