J. Cole Addresses Drake and Kendrick Lamar Feud in Surprise Track 'Port Antonio'

J. Cole has shared his thoughts on the ongoing Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud in his surprise single, ‘Port Antonio’. The tension between Lamar and Drake escalated in April when the former took shots at both the Canadian rapper and Cole on Future and Metro Boomin’s track ‘Like That’. Initially, Cole responded with the diss track ‘7 Minute Drill’ from his mixtape ‘Might Delete Later’, but quickly retracted it and issued an apology.

On 9^th October, Cole unexpectedly released ‘Port Antonio’, which features samples from Lonnie Liston Smith’s ‘A Garden of Peace’ and Cleo Sol’s ‘Know That You Are Loved’. In the five-minute song, the rapper explains his decision to distance himself from the feud.

He rapped: “I pulled the plug because I 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.”

He went on to address the harsh accusations exchanged between Drake and Lamar in their respective diss tracks:

“Jermaine is no king if that means I gotta dig up dirt and pay the whole team / Of algorithm bot n****s just to sway the whole thing / On social media, competing for your favourable memes to be considered best.”

“I understand the thirst of being first that made ’em both swing / Protecting legacies, so lines got crossed, perhaps regrettably / My friends went to war, I walked away with all they blood on me,” Cole continued, suggesting both rappers went too far in the feud.

Image Courtesy: Forbes

‘Port Antonio’ was released on the one-year anniversary of ‘First Person Shooter’ – the collaboration between Drake and Cole that Lamar responded to in ‘Like That’. Cole specifically referenced the track:

“They say I’m pickin’ sides, aye, don’t you lie on me, my n***a / To start another war / Aye, Drake, you’ll always be my n***a / I ain’t ashamed to say you did a lot for me, my n***a / F**k all the narratives / Tapping back into your magic pen is what’s imperative.”

“Reminding these folks why we do it / It’s not for beefing, it’s for speaking our thoughts,” Cole said, explaining why hip-hop is important and not just a device to stir up hatred. He added: “Pushing ourselves, reaching the charts / Reaching your minds, deep in your heart / Screaming to find emotions to touch / Somethin’ inside to open you up / Help you cope with the rough times and s**t / I’m sending love, ’cause we ain’t promised s**t.”

The Drake-Lamar feud came to a standstill in May after Drake released ‘The Heart Part 6’, where he revealed that his team had misled Lamar with false information and denied the pe**philia accusations made against him in ‘Meet The Grahams’ and ‘Not Like Us’.

‘Not Like Us’ has since become one of Lamar’s biggest hits, reaching his fourth Billboard Number One and breaking Spotify’s record for the most streams in a single day for a hip-hop track. During his sold-out Juneteenth ‘Pop Out’ concert, Lamar performed the song six times, with Dr. Dre introducing it the first time by whispering the iconic opening line, “I see dead people.”

Lamar is set to headline next year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show. Rumours surfaced that Drake had issued Lamar a “cease-and-desist” letter to prevent him from performing ‘Not Like Us’ at the major event, but Drake has denied these claims.

In addition, a new documentary titled ‘Public Enemies: Kendrick vs Drake’ has been green-lit by UK broadcaster Channel 4. The documentary promises to be a “cultural exploration of two of the most influential voices in modern music.” No release date or US broadcast plans have been announced yet.

--Silviya.Y