J. Cole Isn’t the First Rapper to Apologize for a Diss Song

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J. Cole has raised eyebrows throughout the hip-hop world for the way he chose to publicly address his diss aimed at Kendrick Lamar on the new song “7 Minute Drill.” While Cole didn’t flat-out say the words, “I’m sorry,” many who pay close attention to the rap game are considering Cole’s speech at the 2024 Dreamville Festival on Sunday (April 7) as a direct apology to Kung Fu Kenny. If Cole’s declaration that the recent diss track is the “lamest” and goofiest” thing he’s ever done is to be taken as an apology, he is not the first rapper to do so.

Just as he was about to close out his headlining performance at Sunday’s 2024 Dreamville Festival, J. Cole addressed the proverbial elephant in the room. He expressed a deep sense of remorse for using a track on his new Might Delete Later project to clap back at the shots Kendrick Lamar aimed his way on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.”

J. Cole Calls Kendrick Lamar “One of the Greatest” After “7 Minute Drill” Diss Song

After declaring that “Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest muthaf**kas that ever touched a f**king microphone,” J. Cole explained that his scathing bars on “7 Minute Drill” aimed at Kenny and K-Dot’s musical output simply did not sit right with Cole’s soul. The legendary MC then begged his fans for forgiveness.

“And I pray that y’all forgive a n***a for the misstep and I can get back to my true path,” J Cole told the Dreamville Festival crowd in the video below. “’Cause I ain’t gonna lie to y’all, the past two days felt terrible.”

While J. Cole’s moment of clarity may be the first time a rapper has backslid on a diss record in front of a crowd of that magnitude, it is not the only time a rapper has taken back the things they’ve done and said in the heat of battle. In fact, J. Cole himself was once the subject of a public apology amid a rap beef that probably never should’ve happened in the first place.

Canibus Disses J. Cole Then Apologizes Immediately

When J. Cole began to infiltrate the hip-hop mainstream in the early 2010s, he often mentioned Canibus as a lyrical mastermind he’s been influenced by. However, Canibus, feeling slighted by some of J. Cole’s comments that ’Bus perceived as painting him as a thing of the past, dropped a diss track clearly aimed at Cole titled “J. Clone” in 2011. ’Bus was of the opinion that rather than mentioning his name, Jermaine should’ve dipped into his pockets to pay for a collab.

“If it ain’t a threat, then it must be a promise,” Canibus raps. “You said my name so much, they think you being honest/It’s more than that, we could’ve recorded a track/You could give me a stack for a verse just like that.”

Just two days later, Canibus apologized to J. Cole in a manner very similar to the way Cole is currently handling the Kendrick Lamar situation. However, unlike J. Cole, ’Bus left no questions as to whether or not he was sorry for the “J. Clone” diss song.

“I’ve seen thousands and thousands of comments about this J. Cole track and all of the negativity it’s stirring up,” Canibus stated in December of 2011. “After 48 hours of it, I feel confident enough to say that it’s unanimous. Hip-hop has spoken up loud and clear. It’s a Cole world right now, and you’re reigning champ, J. I take full responsibility for my actions and I apologize for stepping over the line. It comes off as tacky, unsophisticated, and it’s just not G. I love hip-hop too much to further justify my selfish behavior.”

An apology clear as day.

Beanie Sigel Takes Back His Shots Aimed at Jay-Z

Another example of a battle-tested MC coming out to publicly take back a ferocious diss is when Beanie Sigel offered an olive branch to his former Roc-A-Fella Records boss Jay-Z while the two were at odds. Two years after Beans dropped 2009’s “What You Talkin’ About (Average Cat),” which finds Sigel calling out Hov by name, the Philadelphia spitter admitted his wrongdoing in an exclusive interview with XXL in May of 2011.

“What Mike Epps say? ‘Gangstas f**k up, too,'” Sigel explained regarding his beef with Jay-Z. “Whatever I felt this dude Jay did wrong to me, it can’t outweigh the one thing he did do for me: He gave me an opportunity. Dude gave me an opportunity. A lot of people don’t get opportunities. He gave me that. That outweighs everything. I need that in black and white. I got caught in the moment and put my feelings out there. I should have never done that.”

While fans and industry insiders continue to debate whether or not J. Cole officially apologized for dissing Kendrick Lamar on “7 Minute Drill,” or if his signs of remorse are good for hip-hop as a whole, Cole’s stance on being the bigger person for the sake of humanity is not an unprecedented occurrence.