"I am so proud of that project except for one part": J Cole says he regrets including Kendrick Lamar diss track in Might Delete Later

Rapper J Cole expressed regret for taking shots at Kendrick Lamar with his diss track 7 Minute Drill while headlining at the Dreamville Festival in North Carolina on April 7, 2024. The song was placed last in the rapper's new surprise album Might Delete Later, released on April 5.

Addressing his fans at the festival, the rapper admitted that while he was proud of his latest album, he was ashamed of firing back at Lamar.

"I'm so proud of that project except for one part. It’s one part of that s*** that makes me feel like, man that’s the lamest s*** I did in my f****** life, right? And I know this is not what a lot of people want to hear.”

7 Minute Drill resulted from an ongoing feud between Lamar, J Cole, and Drake after the latter two teamed up in 2023 and collaborated on the song First Person Shooter. In the song, J Cole refers to the three rappers as the "big three" in the rap industry. This caused Lamar to fire back at the two in a guest verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s Like That, released on March 26.

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J Cole dubs new song 7 Minute Drill a "relapse" from his "peace"

J Cole took to the stage for his headlining performance at the 2024 Dreamville Festival on Sunday, enthralling fans with his biggest hits. Before performing the closing song, his 2014 Forest Hills Drive track Love Yourz, he addressed his fans to explain the ideology behind his latest album and the beef with Kendrick Lamar in a speech that went viral on X.

"I been following my dream and heading to The Fall Off in the way I wanted to do it. I put out this project on Friday called Might Delete Later. I don't know how many people checked it out or whatever. I swear to God, I'm so proud of that project because I know one: it's just a lead up."

He continued that he was pressured to issue a public response to Lamar's verse in Like That, which led to him releasing 7 Minute Drill. He also claimed to be conflicted before the album's release in the video, saying:

"So I felt conflicted ’cause I’m like, bruh I don’t even feel no way. But the world wanna see blood. I don’t know if y’all can feel that, but the world wanna see blood.”

J Cole further claimed that releasing 7 Minute Drill didn't "sit right" with his spirit, calling it a disrupter to his peace. He reiterated that Kendrick Lamar was one of the greatest artists ever, asking the audience to forgive him "for the misstep."

"But at the end of the day, when I listen to it and I see the talk, that s**t don't sit right with my spirit. That s**t disrupts my f***ing peace...in the midst of me doing that and trying to find a little angle and downplay this n***a's f***ing catalog and his greatness.

Before closing the show with his last song, he said that the past two days since his album's release have been terrible.

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Kendrick Lamar's feud with J Cole and Drake explained

The dispute between the three rappers began with the release of Drake's 2023 album For All the Dogs. J Cole and Drake collaborated on a song titled First Person Shooter, which saw the former rap the lyrics:

"Love when they argue the hardest MC. Is it K. Dot [Kendrick]? Is it Aubrey [Drake]? Or me? We the big three, like we started a league."

The lyrics suggested that J Cole, Drake, and Lamar were the "big three" of the current hip-hop era. An incensed Lamar fired back with an uncredited verse in Metro Boomin and rapper Future's song Like That from the 2024 collaborative album We Don't Trust You.

In an expletive-laden verse, Lamar dispelled the notion of the "big three," claiming that "it's just big me." In 7 Minute Drill, J Cole has seemingly hit back against Lamar with the lyrics:

"I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissing. You want some attention, it come with extensions. He [Lamar] still doing shows but fell off like The Simpsons."

He continued to insult Lamar's discography by calling the rapper's debut a classic but dubbing his latest album, 2022's Mr Morale and the Big Steppers, "tragic."

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J Cole's 12-track album Might Delete Later is his first full-length album since his 2021 album The Off-Season. It features guest appearances by Ari Lennox, Gucci Mane, Bas, Central Cee, and Cam’Ron, to name a few.