COLUMN | J. Cole-how do you go from being dissed, to responding, to apologising?

Jermaine, Jermaine, Jermaine.

What are you doing bra?

This J. Cole guy has been one of the best rappers around for a solid decade. His music has skill to it, an artistic flair and of course, his verbiage is as close to unrivalled as it gets. He is one of a few artists who can deliver a platinum-selling record with minimal features.

Just last year J. Cole was the topic of conversation because of the run of features he was on. This man will provide fellow artists with a feature for free and then proceed to smoke said artists out on their own tracks. Ask Bia, Benny The Butcher, or Drake…this guy is relentless.

Last year he and Drake released the hit single First Person Shooter Mode and Cole likened himself along with Drake and Kendrick to the big three, a play on words referencing a popular three-on-three basketball league in America started by veteran rapper Ice Cube. It also refers to how NBA teams build super teams that have three mega-stars on the roster.

Kendrick didn’t like that, so he let his disdain land on both Drake and Cole when he teamed up with Future and Metro Boomin on the song Like That.

Kendrick says something like, 'there is no big three it's just big me,' which is kind of soft in my opinion. That's not an artful dart you sound like a petulant school kid. Globally the streets were baying for blood knowing Cole would respond which he did. A seven-minute-long track called 7-Minute Drill. He gave a critique of Kendrick’s catalogue, and he was spot on. Kendrick had a masterful first album and a string of albums that were convoluted and praised just for the sake of people looking to praise something. This track however was as flimsy as the initial transgression. Cole sounds lazy on it if we're being real. 

You would think that a rapper who has been described as one of the more competitive wordsmiths out there would stick to his guns but no, he lowers his arms and raises his hands to the skies crying about mental health. He has since pulled his response from all streaming services. 

That’s the problem with rap music, ya’ll way too ready to be triggered when you should be more trigger-happy at least in the studio. Nobody wanted to see these two heavyweights go to the mattresses so to speak. There is no need for violence but dissing someone for seven minutes and then reneging in front of a live audience is puzzling to me.

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In one night, Cole undid a lot of what he had built in his career. Talking about he loves Kendrick when that guy belittles you and your Canadian chommie with the greatest of ease. Now you want your soul and conscience to be clear, absolute rubbish. Cole probably realises he has opened the door for Kendrick to go wild on a full song and not just a verse and the 7 Minute Drill would be easily rinsed so just take it down quickly and say sorry. 

This feeble attitude is why rap is dying. It’s the same flimsy mindset that can see hordes of people revel in the sounds of artists at Cotton Fest and never once pause to wonder why it is that every rapper comes out and sings over their own song. The mic isn’t even raised to your mouth, but your voice is blaring through the speakers—pitiful garbage.

This was to be two of the greats sparring. The battle is part of hip hop which is very much a competitive lane of creativity. To reiterate, nobody wants to see a Pac and Biggie situation unfurl but how about a little gamesmanship? Not this thing Drake does when he gives a speech on tour or writes a cute little message on a whiteboard at his shows backstage, go in the booth bra and try not to sing on this one.

I am quite let down; yes, mental health is important but we’re talking about a battle. Whose skill is sharper. I think Cole has spent too much time around Drake. That is a man who allowed Pusha T to bully him so badly on a track that Drake was forced to be a present father to the child he was allegedly hiding from the world until The Story of Adonis dropped. Funnily enough Jermaine, who has been on tour with Drake, appears on the sequel album to We Don't Trust You by Future and Metro Boomin on a track called Red Leather which is included on an anthology that houses more Drake hate. Ain't that your man Cole?

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It's just raps, and after a decade of jostling one of these big three will need to be crowned the outright king. You can say what you want about the fraternity of women rappers especially from America, but they are constantly going at each other vaaing to be the best with nobody suffering a breakdown or a drive-by yet. Just rap Cole, I know it’s cool to be depressed these days but this is what the people want.