Drake Shows Love To J Cole After Being Referenced In New Song

Drake and Kendrick Lamar have been the dominant rap story of 2024. For good reason. They are the two defining artists of their generation, both in terms of acclaim and success. Drake and J Cole are a similarly fascinating story, though. The duo have been working together since 2010, and they reunited on the hit single “First Person Shooter” in 2023. You know, the one that ignited the whole “Big Three” war to begin with. J Cole ducked out of the war, leaving Drake to go at Kendrick Lamar on his own. Cole said as much on his new song, “Port Antonio.” And Drake seemingly listened.

J Cole dropped “San Antonio” out of the blue on October 9. Fans were excited to get new music, but no one could have predicted the lyrical topics that Cole takes on. He addresses the “Big Three” beef head on, and even calls out Drake by name during one of his verses. He makes it clear that he doesn’t dislike the 6 God, and acknowledges how much help he’s given him in his career. “They say I’m picking sides, don’t you lie on me, my n**ga,” J Cole spits. “The start of another war, hey Drake, you’ll always be my n**ga. I ain’t ashamed to say you did a lot for me, my n**ga.” The Toronto rapper seemingly respected what Cole had to say. He liked the Instagram post that initially uploaded the song.

The timing of the shout out is interesting. Drake recently made headlines for less than stellar reasons. He made an appearance at a public event in Toronto, and proceeded to talk about how those he considered friends have stabbed him in the back. “My real friends are definitely in the building,” the 6 God explained to the crowd. “You’re going to come to a point in life where people you thought were friends, or people you thought were close to you, switch up.” Based on the fact that J Cole not only apologized for dissing Kendrick Lamar, but proceeded to work with several of Drake’s enemies, it’s safe to assume he is among the fake friends Drake mentioned.

J Cole spent the rest of the song explaining why he didn’t want to beef with Drake and K. Dot. In his estimation, he didn’t want to be remembered for ragging on people he considered peers. He also was opposed to digging up dirt on people he’s known well for years. “Jermaine is no king,” he raps. “If that means I gotta dig up dirt. And pay the whole team of algorithm bot n**gas just to sway the whole thing on social media, competing for ya favorable memes.” Here’s hoping J Cole’s olive branch is enough to mend things between him and Drake.