J. Cole Teases Unreleased Tracks With Kendrick Lamar on Podcast

J. Cole recently shared two unreleased tracks featuring Kendrick Lamar from 2010 during an episode of his podcast, The Inevitable, which chronicles his career and creative journey. The songs, titled Temptations and Shock The World, were recorded after Cole and Kendrick met during a cover shoot for XXL’s Freshman list in 2010, which also featured Jay Rock from Kendrick’s label, TDE.

After the shoot, Cole played the two tracks for Kendrick, offering them to him. He recalled telling Kendrick that he could take the songs if he wanted, and Kendrick’s response left a lasting impression on him. Kendrick questioned whether Cole was sure about giving away the songs, suggesting that Cole was underestimating his own abilities. At the time, Cole was focused on finding a major hit for his album and overlooked the potential of the work he had already created, a realization that Cole later acknowledged was an important moment for him.

Listeners can hear a recording of the podcast episode, which includes snippets of Temptations and Shock The World.

This isn’t the first time that snippets of Temptations and Shock The World have been shared, but it is the first occasion the public has heard longer versions of the tracks. Kendrick had previously played a portion of Temptations during a 2014 meet-and-greet for fans. These recent previews come after a period of tension between the two artists, who had a close collaborative history. Since 2010, rumours of a joint album between J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar circulated, and the pair worked together on the 2013 track Forbidden Fruit. In November 2022, Cole confirmed that their joint album had once been a serious project.

However, the situation took a different turn in 2023 when J. Cole featured on Drake’s First Person Shooter. On the track, Cole referred to himself, Kendrick, and Drake as the “big three,” comparing themselves to a legendary league. Kendrick Lamar responded to this claim in his track Like That, part of Future and Metro Boomin’s collaborative album We Don’t Trust You. In his verse, Kendrick made it clear that he wasn’t concerned with the “big three” label, asserting that it was just about him, a statement that fuelled the ongoing tension.

This prompted a heated rap rivalry between Kendrick and Drake, who exchanged several diss tracks. J. Cole briefly entered the feud, releasing a diss track titled 7 Minute Drill on his mixtape Might Delete Later. However, Cole quickly retracted the track and apologized for his involvement. The dispute between Drake and Lamar officially cooled down in May when Drake released The Heart Part 6, where he addressed some of the rumours circulating about Kendrick, including false accusations related to Meet The Grahams and Not Like Us, and clarified his stance on the situation.

–Silviya.Y