J. Cole said there's one part of his new album that he's not proud of: a track in which he disses Kendrick Lamar.
The artist, who dropped his album "Might Delete Later” on Friday, released a track titled "7 Minute Drill," which features a verse that takes aim at the fellow rapper.
“I’m so proud of that project, except for one part,” Cole said Sunday at his music festival, Dreamville Fest. “It’s one part of that s--- that make me feel like, ‘Man, that’s the lamest s--- I ever did in my f------ life.’ And I know this is not what a lot of people want to hear.”
Lamar, the first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize in 2018, had taken shots at Cole and Drake in a guest verse on the song "Like That," by rapper Future and producer Metro Boomin.
In the song, Lamar responds to a line in Cole and Drake’s song “First Person Shooter,” in which Cole had deemed himself, Drake and Lamar as the “Big Three” of rap music.
After the release of "Like That" on March 22, Lamar's verse blew up online, prompting speculation around whether or not Cole or Drake would respond. Many fans believed Lamar’s verse was too scathing for Cole and Drake not to respond.
Cole on Sunday told the crowd that he tried to “jab” Lamar back in a friendly way, but that it didn’t “sit right.” He said he hopes that Lamar “didn’t feel no way,” but that he would take another diss “on the chin” if Lamar was offended.
Footage from Cole's onstage comments circulated on X, where many have spent days discussing his diss track. In the song, Cole says Lamar's second album “To Pimp a Butterfly,” which won best rap album at the 2016 Grammys, put people to sleep.
Some rap fans online felt that Cole’s diss was weak because “TPAB” has been critically and commercially acclaimed.
Cole told the Dreamville Fest crowd that he felt pressured to hit back at Lamar.
“I felt conflicted because I’m like, ‘Bruh, I know I don’t really feel no way,’ but the world wants to see blood,” Cole said to the crowd.
He also expressed remorse for downplaying Lamar’s discography in his dis.
“How many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherf------ to ever touch a f------ microphone?” Cole said, garnering applause from the audience.
He also said he felt “blessed” to stand beside Drake and Lamar as peers.
Drake has not directly responded to the dis. He appeared to reference it at a recent concert in Florida.
Representatives for Cole, Lamar and Drake did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
