Opinion: J. Cole's Apology Was Bad For Hip-Hop But Good For Himself

J. Cole apologized.

After weeks of high tension and a couple of low-level diss verses between him and Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole stood on stage at his music festival and apologized for (checks notes) saying mean things during a rap beef.

If you told the average Cole fan that he’d publicly apologize for coming at Kendrick they’d probably cuss you out. But now that Cole has come out waving the white flag, they're directing that same anger at him.

Cole’s decision to take back his words will surely haunt him for the rest of his career as an artist and will definitely go down as one of the strangest moves made in Hip-Hop history. But despite all the hate and controversy surrounding his decision, the question still remains, was it the right thing to do?

I’m Glad Y’all Set It Off

From the very first time J. Cole ever picked up a mic, he has always been an aggressive, combative and competitive rapper. For years, Cole has leaned into the idea that he’s part of a dying breed of real rappers. You can hear all throughout his music how he believes that he’s a true student of Hip-Hop while most other artists are posers looking to get rich off the culture. He boldly predicted the gruesome end of the Soundcloud era of rap while at the same time proclaiming his style of music would last forever. Even in his latest project Might Delete Later, Cole outright says he’s the best in the world and literally claims that any rapper he’d face off against would be easily taken care of. And then Kendrick Lamar called him out.

For those who missed it, Kendrick Lamar lit the rap world on fire a few weeks ago with his venom-filled verse on Metro Boomin and Future’s song Like That. After more than a decade of sneak disses and unspoken resentment, the Compton rapper threw several shots at Drake and J. Cole, two of the only artists in the world who can truly be called his equals. Together, they’re known as "The Big Three" of current-day rap. In his verse, Lamar outright rejected the idea that the other two were on his level and basically invited them to diss him back if they were brave enough.

A Shook One

This should’ve been right up J. Cole’s alley. In fact, most people predicted that he would respond before Drake. This was the time for Cole to step up to the plate and prove that he was the S-tier rapper that we all believed he was. Then something strange happened. He responded, but not with the same fire that fans had long known him for. There were a few soft shots at Kendrick about his discography and his infamous absences but the version of J. Cole that would destroy any rapper was nowhere to be found. Fans were confused about what was going on. Theories even arose that this was part of Cole’s master strategy and that a harder diss track was soon on the way. Of course, Cole didn’t leave his supporters speculating for long. Only two days after his response was released, he apologized, gave Kendrick his flowers and promised to remove the track from streaming.

He told attendees at his Dreamville Festival that he had lost sleep over his response, and that the things he said about Kendrick weren’t even true. With thousands of eyes watching, he admitted that he felt pressure to respond from both his fanbase and people close to him. But his heart wasn’t in it. So, before the beef had a chance to grow any further, he waved the white flag. Disappointing some of his supporters, and infuriating others.

To be clear, J. Cole’s true crime isn’t choosing spiritual well-being over competition, it’s the fact that he wasn’t the Hip-Hop savior that he claimed to be. Battling and disses have been a part of the rap culture from the beginning. But since the advent of social media and the rapid commercialization of the genre, rap beef has slowly devolved into nothing more than two entertainers yelling at each other through posts and livestreams. Any true MC who loves the genre and the culture around it would respond to Kendrick’s verse with some heat of their own and prove to both their challenger and the world that they reign supreme. It wouldn’t have even been Cole’s first rap beef. In the past, he’s gone toe-to-toe with smaller artists like Noname and Lil Pump to prove his lyrical and moral superiority over them. But when it was time to test his pen against someone of his stature, he was shook.

I Choose Me. I’m Sorry.

So where does that leave Cole? Some say he should lose his reputation as one of the greats of our time. Others say that he’s being mature and realizing that beef and dissing are beneath an artist of his stature. It’s difficult to say for sure, but no matter where you stand in this debate, no one can argue that J. Cole isn’t being true to himself at this moment.

Another huge part of J. Cole’s reputation as one of the last real Hip-Hop artists is his honesty. Even before the modern era of the genre, rappers have put on personas to help sell records and promote shows. Some of the most hardcore gangsta’ rappers were actually theater kids playing a role, but not Cole. He’s always been transparent about who he is and what his life is like. When he’s not boasting about his skill and accomplishments, he’ll also talk about riding around on his bike, spending too much time on Twitter and raising his son. Cole doesn’t share everything with the world, but everything he does share is authentic. Fans thought that his willingness to take on any challengers was real too, and maybe he believed that he had that vitriol inside himself as well. But when his opponent turned out to be someone he actually loved and respected, he just couldn’t go through with it.

His apology was a betrayal to Hip-Hop and the fans he loved. But in many ways, that response track was a betrayal to himself. For perhaps the first time in his career, J. Cole was publicly forced to choose between upholding a rap persona and living his truth. And though he caved in for a few days, he ultimately decided that no one would force him to act out of character. Not even his own fans.

Call it cowardice. Call it maturity. Hell, you can even call it stupidity. But at the end of the day, you can’t call him fake.

Photo Credit: Twitter - @JColeVillle