J. Cole

Drake Reposts A Tweet Ruthlessly Clowning J Cole On His Finsta Account

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Drake is continuing to run the internet. The rapper may have been taking L’s for the better part of the year, but he’s striking back. Not in a way any of us expected, either. Instead of dissing his ops direct, he has decided to release material that makes them look bad. Cue the footage of Drake effectively making Kanye West’s “Yikes” from scratch. The 6 God also took time to repost an old tweet that belittle J Cole. Drake and Cole’s relationship is tenuous at best, these days, and the former decided to have fun at the expense of his “First Person Shooter” partner.

The tweet was reposted on Drake’s new Finsta account plottttwistttttt. It was originally posted in 2019, and mocks J Cole’s relationship with his former Roc Nation boss, JAY-Z. “Remember when J Cole got his phone stolen out of pocket by a fan,” the user wrote. “They called JAY-Z from it but he wasn’t answering so they called from their own phone and he picked up.” Brutal. Drake knew exactly what he was doing by reposting this tweet. J Cole made it clear from the moment that he signed to Roc Nation that he wanted to harbor a close bond with JAY-Z. He saw himself as another Kanye-esque protege. Needless to say, it didn’t work out that way. Cole and JAY were never especially close, and the former found more success on his own.

Read More: Mustard Trolled Mercilessly Online For Previously Wanting A Drake Feature

Drake Mocks J Cole’s Weak Relationship With JAY-Z

Drake, on the other hand, has harbored a much closer bond with JAY-Z over the years. The latter has featured on four of the Toronto rapper’s albums. By comparison, he appeared on only one song for J Cole, despite the fact that Cole was signed to his label. Drake and JAY-Z have had their struggles on occasion, but it’s clear both men have respect for one another. It’s a much cleaner relationship than either man has with Kanye West, but that’s a different story. By resharing an old story in which JAY-Z ignored a call, Drake is casting doubt on how much respect Cole really gets in the industry. Especially among the acknowledged greats.

J Cole has already had it rough since the release of “First Person Shooter.” The rapper tried to fight back against Kendrick Lamar, then apologized and became a punchline. His bizarre verse on the Cash Cobain song “Grippy” didn’t help. Drake took a pretty big loss courtesy of Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” but at least he can say he didn’t back down. The Toronto rapper stayed in the ring, and earned the respect of icons like Rakim, LL Cool J and Ice Cube in the process.

Read More: Drake Follows IG Account Hinting At “Round Two” Of Kendrick Lamar Battle

The post Drake Reposts A Tweet Ruthlessly Clowning J Cole On His Finsta Account appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Fat Joe Thinks J. Cole Exiting The Kendrick Lamar Beef Knocked Him Down A Peg, But He Gets Why He Did It

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Fat Joe knows his way around a hip-hop feud, as he famously had beef with 50 Cent in the 2000s. So, his perspective about those matters is an interesting and informed one, and now he has shared his thoughts about J. Cole’s (relative lack of) involvement in the Kendrick Lamar and Drake feud.

On a new episode of the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, Joe spoke about Cole deciding to bow out of the feud and had both positive and negative thoughts on how Cole handled himself, saying:

“When you [get] called out in hip-hop, you gotta respond. And so, I’m a big fan of J. Cole, but it started from that. He probably saw that it could get real messy and real ugly, and so he said, ‘Yo, you know what? This ain’t me. I don’t want no parts of it,’ but he definitely got a stripe off […] because in hip-hop, they call you out, you come out, you know? That’s just what it is. […] You got to come out, and a guy like him… he was a king. He’s so talented, he’s a king, so it was like, ‘Wow, Cole! You did that?

But I get it, I get all scenarios. He was mature enough to think past the lyrical beef and say, ‘Yo, this might turn physical.’ I’m not mad at him, but I’m just saying from a real hip-hop artist… you know, I’ve been called out and I got to step up, even if I think the artist is a million times better than me.”

Check out the full episode above; The Cole-related portion of the show starts at about 1:11:00 into the video.

Fat Joe Claims J Cole’s Legacy Is Tarnished By Kendrick Lamar Battle

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J Cole is in a weird place. The rapper wasn’t defeated in combat the way Drake was. The fact that he chose to forfeit, and cede ground to Kendrick Lamar, though, has been viewed by many as a fate worse than defeat. At least Drake stood on his convictions, right? The debate as to whether Cole made a smart or cowardly decision continues to rage on. Fat Joe recently weighed in on the legacy of the Dreamville star during a recent appearance on the Jay Shetty Podcast. He gave J Cole his flowers, but also noted that things will never quite be the same.

“He definitely got a stripe off,” Fat Joe asserted. “They took a stripe off that because in hip-hop, when they call you out, you come out.” The Terror Squad founder acknowledged that J Cole’s sense of self preservation was smart in some ways, but noted that it came at a great cost. “He probably saw that it could get real messy and real ugly,” Fat Joe added. “So he said, ‘You know this ain’t me I don’t want no parts of it.’” Joe’s reputation is ironclad when it comes to rap beef, so it’s hard to argue with his stance. The rapper has gone at everybody, from 2Pac to JAY-Z to 50 Cent, and never backed down. As far as he is concerned, backing down is not an option.

Read More: J Cole Supported By Trae Tha Truth Over Dropping Out Of Drake & Kendrick’s Beef

Fat Joe Wishes That J Cole Had Risen To The Challenge

Part of Fat Joe’s reasoning is that beefing on record is not the same as beefing in real life. The rapper was perplexed by J Cole’s decision to throw in the towel, given that his battle with Lamar was strictly a lyrical one. “I had one of the biggest, most dangerous beefs with 50 Cent,” Joe relayed to Shetty. “And I was sitting next to him at the game yesterday, having the best time in the world. We’re brothers.” Once again, the rapper took Cole to task for shying away from competition. “When you’re called out in hip-hop, you gotta respond,” he asserted. “I’m a big fan of J Cole, but it started from that.”

Fat Joe isn’t alone in his thinking. Kanye West absolutely laid into Cole on the “Like That” remix, throwing more shots at the Dreamville star than his supposed “main” target, Drake. The Game was also frustrated by Cole’s reticence to attack Kendrick Lamar. “Hip hop [or] rap or whatever y’all calling it these days was already watered down,” the Compton emcee tweeted. “Then Cole apologized and turned this sh*t into Kool-Aid wit no sugar.” Here’s hoping J Cole can bounce back. We will all agree to forget “Grippy.”

Read More: Joe Biden Draws J Cole Comparisons After Dropping Out Of Presidential Race

The post Fat Joe Claims J Cole’s Legacy Is Tarnished By Kendrick Lamar Battle appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

J. Cole Goes Diamond with 2019 Banger “Middle Child”

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J. Cole Goes Diamond with 2019 Banger "Middle Child"

Cheers to J. Cole, who officially became a diamond-selling artist. The single that placed Cole in elite status was “Middle Child,” which sold 10 million units for its 2019 release.

The post J. Cole Goes Diamond with 2019 Banger “Middle Child” first appeared on The Source.

The post J. Cole Goes Diamond with 2019 Banger “Middle Child” appeared first on The Source.

ASAP Rocky Confirms J Cole Collab Amidst Ongoing Drake Beef

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ASAP Rocky is pulling out all the stops on his new album. He’s been working on it since last decade, and the list of collaborators he’s lined up is absurd. Don’t Be Dumb is slated to have production from the likes of Madlib, Pharrell, and The Alchemist, just to name a few. Slick Rick (!) and Rihanna have been rumored as potential features. DJ Kast One dropped by Hot 97 on July 26 to hype up the album. He claimed that another superstar will be featured on the album: J Cole.

DJ Kast One told Hot 97 he already heard Don’t Be Dumb. He also claimed that he heard a standout verse from Dreamville’s finest. “I heard J Cole,” he stated. “I heard songs being played.” The untitled, technically confirmed song will be the first collab between the rappers in over a decade. ASAP Rocky dropped a guest verse alongside Cole on the “TKO” remix from 2013. Justin Timberlake’s single also featured bars from Pusha T, in what now amounts to a nightmare blunt rotation for Drake.

Read More: ASAP Rocky Keeps His Trial Start Date For Shooting Case In New Ruling

ASAP Rocky And Cole Haven’t Worked Together In A Decade

ASAP Rocky and J Cole are generational peers. That’s part of what makes the impending collab so exciting. Well, one of the reasons. ASAP Rocky has been against Drake throughout 2024’s rap civil war. He dissed Drake on Future’s “Show of Hands,” and has stated he plans to do so again on Don’t Be Dumb. J Cole, on the other hand, is a former Drake ally. The rapper was on “First Person Shooter” with Drake, and his line about the “Big 3” started the whole mess. Cole was on Drake’s side until the “7 Minute Drill” debacle. The Dreamville star apologized for dissing Kendrick Lamar and then seemingly changed sides. He appeared on the same Future and Metro Boomin album in which Rocky dissed Drake.

To make matters worse for the 6 God, ASAP Rocky plans to diss him again on Don’t Be Dumb. During the same Hot 97 preview, DJ Kast One confirmed that the rapper will be firing back at Drake over the bars he dropped on “Family Matters.” Evidently, J Cole had made the full transformation to being anti-Drake. It was theorized that he dissed the Toronto star on “Red Leather,” but knowingly appearing on an album with Drake disses removes the need for speculation. We’ve come a long way since “In the Morning.”

Read More: ASAP Rocky Delights Fans With Huge “Don’t Be Dumb” Update

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Vince Staples Issued A Very Vince Staples Response To A Vince Staples Vs. J. Cole Debate On X/Twitter

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vince staples
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For almost as long as rap has existed, fans have loved debating the merits of one rapper over others. Jay-Z and Nas, Drake and Kendrick Lamar, Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj… these arguments are well known among hip-hop fans. However, a new one has cropped up thanks to social media: J. Cole and Vince Staples.

Like most online debates, this one was started by an account expressing a “hot take” with which fans took issue. “There’s not a single thing Vince Staples does better than J. Cole,” it wrote. Within an hour, the challenge was met by a dissenter who wrote, “I’m a J. Cole fan but Vince does just about everything better than Cole.” Thus, we were off to the races, with various voices chiming in to make their points or refute others’.

https://twitter.com/JColeVillle/status/1815778405503455454

Of course, the funniest response came from Staples himself. As fans pitted the two rappers against each other, Vince had a characteristically cheeky response, tweeting, “You n****s need jobs” and following up with, “So passionate about hip hop but I’ve yet to see one of you weird ass n****s break dance.”

We here at Uproxx support both rappers, but tend to agree with Vince here: There are far more interesting things going on in the culture than subjective comparisons of “who’s better.”

Still, if that’s your thing, you can check out more responses below.

President Joe Biden Draws J. Cole Comparisons After Dropping Out Of Presidential Race

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Screenshot 2024 07 22 at 8.34.00 AM

It didn’t take long after President Biden announced that he was dropping out of the 2024 Presidential race that comparisons were made by Hip Hop fans to J. Cole and his dropping out of the “Big 3” battle between him, Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Biden declined the Presidential nomination for the Democratic party in a statement on Sunday afternoon. X users shared an edited photo of Biden and Cole’s face next to one another across the platform, with one fan writing, “Biden watched what backing out of a battle did for J. Cole and said y’all go have fun.” Another tweeted, “I hate the internet, Joe Biden folded, now J Cole trending.”

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Biden’s decision comes amid reports that many politicians within the Democratic party have been losing faith in his ability to properly govern in recent weeks. “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in his statement on X (formerly Twitter). “I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”

The post President Joe Biden Draws J. Cole Comparisons After Dropping Out Of Presidential Race first appeared on The Source.

The post President Joe Biden Draws J. Cole Comparisons After Dropping Out Of Presidential Race appeared first on The Source.

Cash Cobain Has The Sound Of The Summer

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Cash Cobain 'Sound Of The Summer' article
Getty Image/Merle Cooper

Everyone wants a piece of Cash Cobain’s sexy drill. The 25-year-old South Bronx rapper and producer’s sound and tag – “and this beat from Cash, not from YouTube” – are inescapable nowadays as the music industry looks to cash in on the wave fans can’t get enough. Fellow Bronx rapper A Boogie With Da Hoodie is one of many who have shared their praises for Cash. “He came up and he made a f*cking sound,” A Boogie said in an interview last month. “He made this sh*t happen, n****s don’t do that. N****s sleep on the craft.” Though that may be true in many cases, people are not sleeping on Cash Cobain. Having the song of the summer is one thing, but Cash Cobain took it a step further by claiming this year’s sound of the summer.

A Boogie’s comments came a month after he and Cash Cobain released their first collaboration, “Body,” a focus record from A Boogie’s latest album Better Off Alone. A week later, Cash produced and featured on Don Toliver’s “Attitude” which also featured a rare guest verse from the legendary Charlie Wilson. Both records were paired with matching visuals to properly spotlight the moments that those songs were meant to create for the respective albums they’re housed on, and it paid off. “Body” and “Attitude” are fan favorites on A Boogie and Don’s latest albums, with Cash being the common factor that’s too successful to ignore.

Music’s biggest stars have taken notice too. Cash’s sound made it to Drake’s 2023 album For All The Dogs as he co-produced the 21 Savage-featured “Calling For You.” J. Cole jumped on the wave this past spring for “Grippy,” a remix of Cash’s “Dunk Contest” that also doubled as Cole’s first recorded verse following his exit from the Kendrick Lamar and Drake rap beef (and probably an attempt to lighten the mood). Cash scored another big production credit with PinkPantheress’ “Nice To Meet You” with Central Cee. More recently, Ice Spice remixed Cash’s “Fisherrr” hit to add to Cash’s list of collaborations in 2024 that includes first-timers like Anycia, Diany Dior, and Bktherula as well as work with longtime collaborators like Vontee The Singer, Chow Lee, and B-Lovee.

The impressive thing about Cash Cobain’s sound is it’s just as effective, and sometimes more effective, with Cash in the driver’s seat. His 2024 year began with “Dunk Contest,” a sprawling account of Cash’s Rolodex of women, their best qualities, and his desires with them. “Fisherrr” with Bay Swag followed and quickly found itself in the song of the summer race. Production from Cash, FckBwoy! & WhoIsJiggiA guides the song as Cash and Bay lament over their luxurious and intimate experiences with their respective women. Cash scored a hat trick for himself last month with the long-awaited release of “Rump Punch,” a more laid-back effort from the Bronx native that’s just as raunchy as anything else you’ll hear from him.

For Cash Cobain’s next act, he’s bringing the entire music industry with him – or so it seems. At the beginning of this month, Cash teased a new record called “Problem.” The song samples Laila!’s viral track “Not My Problem,” and though it seemed like it would be a solo record, it quickly turned into what now appears to be a massive posse cut. As of press time, Lil Yachty, 6lack, Chow Lee, Karrahbooo, Anycia, Kyle Richh, FLEE, Fabolous, YN Jay, Flo Milli, Luh Tyler, and Kaliii have all teased their own guest verses on the song.

After the flurry of “Problem” verses died down, Cash’s manager Glyn Brown seemed to pump the brakes on the upcoming posse cut, writing, “Confused how some ya n****s getting ‘problem’ instrumental but lol ..get ya rocks off.” Though the list of artists on “Problem” may get cut down, the fact that so many recorded a verse to the song less than a week after Cash previewed the record speaks to the power of his sound and the acknowledged impact and love fans have for it. Like I said earlier, everyone wants a piece of sexy drill.

The allure of sexy drill has grown beyond Cash Cobain as artists have found success in the genre without the Bronx native listed as a rapper or producer on the song. Jordan Adetunji went viral with the Prodbyli & VillaBeatz-produced “Kehlani,” a Summer Walker-sampling track that praises a woman for being “bad just like Kehlani.” Kehlani herself eventually caught wind of the song and teased a guest verse for an upcoming remix. Don Toliver has a future hit on his hands with “Glock” which samples Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” thanks to production from PoWR Trav & Tommy Parker. The former producer is also responsible for successful records like Wolfacejoeyy’s “Cake,” R2R Moe’s “Fair2Me,” and Bb Trickz’s “Bambi.”

If you need one sentence to describe Cash Cobain’s approach to both music and life, look no further than a post he shared on X earlier this month. “I hope everybody get drunk tonight and have a good ass time lol,” he wrote. It’s a simple recipe that’s worked wonders for Cash over the last few years, sitting on the opposite end of the spectrum from rap’s overused tough-guy persona. In Cash’s world, it’s best to be laid-back, relaxed, and enjoying the party. Furthermore, he goes out of his way to cater to women with his music, a rarity in rap today. These are the qualities that make Cash Cobain’s sexy drill a sound for all demographics to champion. With a new album on the way, as well as production on upcoming albums by Chow Lee and others, Cash Cobain won’t be fading into the background anytime soon. The party goes on with sexy drill blaring from speakers near and far for a sound that proven it’s here to stay.

Eminem Makes A Great Point On ‘The Death Of Slim Shady’

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Eminem Just Made One Of His Greatest Points(1024x450)
Getty Image/Merle Cooper

Eminem’s been at this rap thing for a very long time — and unfortunately, over the past few years, he’s started to show his age. While still as technically proficient as ever, the battle rap veteran has also seen his musical output over the last half-decade or so stultify, with only his most loyal fans appreciating his efforts at being “the best rapper” and not making “the best albums,” as he once put it.

And so, his latest, The Death Of Slim Shady, might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there is something interesting here. On the album’s opening track, “Renaissance,” Em does something that’s become rare for him, depending on who you ask: He makes a great point. In a diverting excursion “inside the mind of a hater,” the 51-year-old notes, “I don’t see no fans, all I see’s a bunch of complainers.” Over the course of the song, he expands on this concept, illustrating his true worry: That fans caught up in nitpicking their favorite rappers won’t appreciate what they’ve got ’til it’s gone.

Lord knows, rap fans love complaining about a perceived dearth of care and craftsmanship when it comes to the art of rhyme. It seems every decade, there’s a new subgenre of rap to rail against: When I was coming up, it was “ringtone rap.” More recently, “mumble rap” has been the target of so many criticisms, while elders of the rap game, from Kool Moe Dee to Joe Budden, have always decried the rise of each successive wave of youngsters who rejected tradition, rewrote the rules of rhyme, or otherwise broke from established norms of hip-hop.

Yet, while doing so, they seemingly overlook so many of the contemporary rappers who seemingly deliver exactly what they want. When rap critics deplored the culture’s slide into criminality in the ’90s in efforts to feed the hunger for “thug” imagery, so-called “conscious rappers” like Common, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest were ridiculed — if not outright ignored — by the mainstream. When “jiggy rap” ruled the airwaves, B-boy traditionalists like Mos Def and Talib Kweli toiled away on the underground circuit — the same circuit that spawned Eminem himself.

Even Kendrick Lamar, who Em name-checks in his “Renaissance” verse (“‘Kendrick’s album was cool, but it didn’t have any bangers’,” says the mind of the hater), has pointed this out in his own discography. On “Hood Politics,” from his 2015 album To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick raps, “Everybody want to talk about who this and who that / Who the realest and who wack, or who white or who black / Critics want to mention that they miss when hip-hop was rappin’ / Motherf*cker, if you did, then Killer Mike’d be platinum,” acknowledging how the Atlanta rapper’s commercial reception rarely lived up to his critical acclaim.

On “Renaissance,” Em drives the point home, name-checking a slew of other alternative or underground ’90s rap acts, along with some of the better-known ones to illustrate how quickly time sweeps away artifacts that aren’t appreciated enough to be preserved. Wise Intelligent and Cella Dwellas are two acts with impeccable reputations for potent, well-crafted rhymes, but the height of either act’s commercial reception was Cella Dwellas’ 1996 debut Realms ‘n Reality, which only peaked at 160 on the Billboard 200. They haven’t put out anything since. Wise Intelligent’s last album was released in 2018, and truthfully, researching for this piece was my first time hearing about it.

Em also calls out Big Daddy Kane, who was once regarded one of the foremost lyricists in all of hip-hop, a pioneer who helped advance the technique used in rap by light years ahead of where it was when he first debuted in 1986. Yet, by 1994 — less than 10 years later — he was being treated as an also-ran, with the lukewarm reception of his sixth album Daddy’s Home prompting him to take a long break from releasing music. He still raps, making occasional guest appearances on projects from the long (long, long, long) list of rappers he’s inspired — including Little Brother, MF DOOM, Rapsody, The Roots, and more. But he hasn’t made a new album since 1998’s Veteranz’ Day, and he’s largely considered a relic of the Golden Era, not a titan of the culture like proteges Jay-Z, Eminem, and Black Thought.

Uproxx’s Elliott Wilson called 2024 the best year in hip-hop, hands down. Putting A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie at No. 5 on his best albums list and overlooking albums from LA County natives like Schoolboy Q and Vince Staples notwithstanding, I agree. So, apparently, does Eminem, who goes out of his way to give a nod to J. Cole’s Might Delete Later. But with all these great rappers making great albums, rap fans seem caught up in their disappointment about projects they don’t like or that fell short, or in the contextual circumstances of those albums, like dismissing J. Cole for bowing out of the Kendrick Lamar/Drake beef.

Eminem harps on the past on his latest album to warn us what could happen in the future. Rap fans who’ve wanted lyrics to return to the spotlight have had a smorgasbord in 2024, but if they keep overlooking the good, they’ll only be left with the bad. At that point, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.

Did Eminem Diss Kendrick Lamar On ‘The Death Of Slim Shady?’

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Eminem’s new album, The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), has only been out for 30 minutes, but it’s already causing controversy — just not in the way you might think. While listening to the album’s first song, “Renaissance,” has lyrics dissing another rapper who is currently riding high on the wave of a recent battle: Kendrick Lamar.

Eminem’s been known for lashing out at his peers on record, and K Dot easily falls into that category. Certainly, Em does name check the younger rapper… But does he actually DISS Kendrick Lamar on The Death Of Slim Shady?

Sorry to those fans who think so, but he’s just mocking the “mind of a hater.” Check out the full sequence below:

Now just travel inside the mind of a hater
‘Cause I don’t see no fans, all I see’s a bunch of complainers
“Kendrick’s album was cool but it didn’t have any bangers”
“Wayne’s album or Ye’s, couldn’t tell you which one was lamer”
“Joyner’s album was corny, Shady’s new shit is way worse”
“Everything is either too tame or there’s too much anger”
“I didn’t like the beat so I hated Might Delete Later”
You nerdy pricks would find somethin’ wrong with 36 Chambers

As you can see, the seemingly combative lyric is coming from this imagined hater (some might say straw man) within the context of the lyrics. Maybe all the pugilistsic energy of the election year has fans up in arms, but as it turns out, for once, Em is actually defending the people he’s name checking. He also drops a slew of classic rap acts’ names in the verse, but we’ll have to see how many of his fans actually catch those — y’know since they “don’t really listen to rap, but love Eminem.” Y’all ain’t low.

The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) is out now via Shady Records/Aftermath/Interscope. You can find more info here.