J Cole and Kendrick Lamar have a fascinating relationship. They are two of the most revered rappers of their generation, and two thirds of the “Big Three.” They’ve shown love to each other, and then dissed each other. It’s all very messy and recent, but J Cole is not shying away from the history between him and Dot on his new podcast Inevitable. Cole not only spoke on Lamar during a recent episode, but he previewed two unreleased songs from a joint album they worked on circa 2010.
Long time J Cole and Kendrick Lamar fans will recognize these songs. We’re going back to the Datpiff days with these ones. J Cole previewed “Temptations” and “Shock the World,” which were previewed for attendees of a record store release back in 2010. There’s video footage of Kendrick Lamar rapping to the songs alongside fans on YoTube. The audio quality, though, as long time fans can attest, is rough. Fans can be heard cheering and exclaiming in the background of the recordings that do exist. J Cole decided to give the public (those who remembered, at least), what they wanted with CDQ versions during via his podcast.
“Temptations” sees J Cole and Kendrick Lamar swap stellar verses over a harp-driven Cole beat. “Shock the World,” meanwhile, features both rappers and a chorus sung by former TDE affiliate BJ the Chicago Kid. Not only do fans get to hear what these songs sound like in their official form, but they get to hear the context of how the songs came together. Cole discusses their making, and the musical chemistry that was immediately recognizable between him and Lamar in the studio.
These songs obviously hit different in light of songs like “Like That” and “7 Minute Drill.” The J Cole and Kendrick Lamar relationship has grown increasingly frayed in the last year. Cole recently dropped “Port Antonio,” which is an extended explanation of what went down between him, Drake and Lamar, and why he chose to bow out of the feud. Cole’s reputation has arguably taken the biggest hit of the “Big Three.” The fact that he’s looking back, though, and seemingly at peace with his relationship with both rappers, means that we can get fascinating peeks into an alternate history courtesy of these unreleased collabs.
It feels like there’s a thin line between coincidences and calculated moves, at least for Kendrick Lamar. He’s often a few steps ahead of most, and the release of his new album, GNX, has been one of the year’s most anticipated albums, even though no one knew whether it would drop in 2024. It marked his first official project since Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers and his first album release post-TDE.
Context is important for this album. His historical beef with Drake is at the fore of this feud, especially after “Not Like Us” dominated the summer. However, this album isn’t strictly about Kendrick’s grievances with his peers–he’s coming for what’s his and destroying anything in his path. It all begins with “wacced out murals,” the blistering intro track that serves as the “Bomb First (My Second Reply)” to Kendrick’s The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The first line alone addresses reports that one of his murals in Compton had been defaced in the wake of his Super Bowl halftime show announcement but this stands as a metaphor for the backlash he received following the news. Regardless, Kendrick is out for blood, and below, we’re breaking down the lyrics for the intro to GNX.
Despite the overwhelming amount of unity and support on the West Coast these days, there may have been a few individuals who just weren’t feeling Kendrick’s “Not Like Us.” The defacing of the artwork at Compton’s Honduras Restaurant Mi Sabor was seemingly handled by an OVO supporter, who X’d out Kendrick’s eyes, wrote the letters T and F, along with “OK,” before finishing with the acronyms of Drake’s October Very Own brand, XXL reports.
Drake
Of course, much of “wacced out murals” addresses the aftermath of his beef with Drake as early as the first verse when he raps, “It used to be f*ck that n***a but now it’s plural,” and “Put they head on a Cuban link as a monument,” which is an undoubted declaration of his unanimous win in the feud earlier this year. Much of the contention in the song–and the album at large– is directed at Drake or at the very least, what the Canadian rapper represents. However, the third verse of “wacced out murals” directly addresses a few talking points from the beef including a callback to “6:16 In L.A.”:
“N***as from my city couldn’t entertain old boy Promisin’ bank transactions and even Bitcoin I never peaced it up, that shit don’t sit well with me Before I take a truce, I’ll take ’em to Hell with me If that money got in the hands of a crash dummy Could jeopardize my family and burden the ones who love me”
These lines refer to the rumors that Drake tried to put money out in the streets for dirt on Kendrick Lamar. Alleged Kendrick affiliate, Coolee Bravo, claimed that he fed Drake false information for $150K. This has yet to be confirmed but Kendrick suggests that Drake was playing with fire, especially since someone could’ve taken things too far and caused physical harm to Kendrick’s family.
Lil Wayne
Man wtf I do?! I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Let’s not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg u all. No one really wants destruction,not even me but I shall destroy if disturbed. On me. Love
While many have debated whether or not Lil Wayne was dissed on GNX, Kendrick clearly had no issues taking his foe’s boss to task following the NOLA rapper’s complaints about the Super Bowl. “Used to bump Tha Carter III, I held my Rollie chain proud/ Irony, I think my hard work let Lil Wayne down,” he raps in the second verse. Not only a reference to J. Cole’s “Let Nas Down” but this line serves as a direct response to Weezy and co. (Nicki Minaj etc.) who leaped to criticize Roc Nation and the Super Bowl without congratulating Kendrick Lamar.
For obvious reasons, the Young Money crew didn’t feel compelled to acknowledge Dot’s success after he duked it out with Wayne’s most notable protegé. This probably stung even more considering Kendrick once released a whole mixtape in dedication to Weezy. In fact, the intro of the project includes a glowing endorsement from Lil Wayne.
A few lines later, Kendrick seemingly takes digs at Lil Wayne’s musical output as of late. “Quite frankly, plenty artists, but they outdated/ Old-ass flows, trying to convince me that you they favorite,” he raps. It’s unclear if this is a shot at Wayne but most would agree that Wayne is far from his prime these days.
In response, Lil Wayne expressed confusion in a post on X. “Man wtf I do?! I just be chillin & dey still kome 4 my head. Let’s not take kindness for weakness. Let this giant sleep. I beg u all. No one really wants destruction,not even me but I shall destroy if disturbed. On me. Love,” he tweeted.
Snoop Dogg
K dot new album GNX It was the edibles west west king
The West Coast’s never been as unified, though it seemed like Snoop felt like he was above the politics. Following the release of Drake’s “Taylor Made Freestyle,” where he used AI to replicate Snoop Dogg and Tupac and taunt Kendrick, the Doggfather seemingly crossed a line by posting the song on his Instagram and co-signing Drake’s effort, despite the backlash. “Snoop posted ‘Taylor Made,’ I prayed it was the edibles/ I couldn’t believe it, it was only right for me to let it go,” Kendrick raps on the song. Kendrick evidently felt some type of way about Snoop Dogg’s praise for Drake, especially since Snoop passed the West Coast torch to Dot. In response, Snoop tweeted, “K dot new album GNX It was the edibles west west king.”
In the midst of the Super Bowl halftime show fallout, only a few people emerged with congratulatory messages for Kendrick Lamar. One of which was Nas, who also congratulated Kendrick on the release of GNX shortly after its release. “Always inspired by my brother KL. Keeping the essence of this shit alive and at the forefront. Salute King!” Nas captioned his latest post.
Diddy
Though his name appears to be omitted, Kendrick seemingly acknowledged the reckoning that the music industry is currently facing.
“Okay, f*ck your hip-hop, I watched the party just die N**gas cackling about— while all of y’all is on trial N**gas thought that I was antisocial when I stayed inside of my house You better off to have one woman, everything tricky right now”
Some interpreted this as a shot at Diddy while others speculated that Kendrick might be referring to Young Thug and Lil Durk. However, Diddy’s trial has produced several unsavory memes, such as the term “No Diddy,” the baby oil memes, or the speculation surrounding “Diddy parties,” which makes this more likely the reference. Moreover, his claims against Drake on “Not Like Us” and “meet the grahams” seemingly mirror some of the allegations against Diddy in his court cases.
J. Cole
In another one where names aren’t mentioned, Kendrick seemingly takes a few digs at J. Cole who has willingly taken more Ls than Drake this year. With the release of “Port Antonio,” Cole attempted to address his position in the feud and his fear of “losing a bro” while maintaining that he’s a formidable opponent in the booth.
Twice on “wacced out murals,” Kendrick seemingly addresses J. Cole’s attempt to both sides his way through the beef. First, he mentions, “F*ck apologies, I wanna see y’all geeked up,” which feels like it could reference Cole’s initial statements at Dreamville Festival where he vowed to pull “7 Minute Drill” off of DSPs and offered an apology to Kendrick. The second time in the song where Kendrick appears to reference the feud is in the third verse when he raps, “Ayy, fuck anybody empathetic to the other side, I vow/ A bitch n***a love bitch n***as, they exist with ’em in style/ Exterminate ’em right now.” Since “Port Antonio” was Cole’s attempt to thwart the narrative surrounding his decision to bow out, it appears that Kendrick isn’t giving J. Cole as much grace as he’d like.
Andrew Schulz
Andrew Schulz reacts to Kendrick Lamar seemingly dissing him on his new album ‘GNX’
Even Andrew Schulz caught a stray on “wacced out murals.” Toward the end of the song, Kendrick seemingly references Schulz’s controversy with James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu, the British podcasters who apologized after engaging in some edgy misogynoir banter on the Flagrant podcast. “Don’t let no white comedian talk about no Black woman, that’s law,” Kendrick says. “Is this guy too woke to understand a joke?” Schulz said in response to the line, according to DJ Akademiks.
Katt Williams
Before the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake exploded, Katt Williams set the tone for 2024, and it appears that Dot channeled that spirit. Katt Williams sat down with Club Shay Shay at the beginning of the year for an explosive interview where he aired out his grievances with the entertainment industry, calling out everyone from Steve Harvey to Diddy. So when Dot raps, “Make Katt Williams ‘nem proud, the truth ‘bout to get loud,” we can imagine that he’s readying the world for a rude awakening.
J Cole has been fulfilling fans’ aspirations over the last few days since dropping his audio series, Inevitable. People were hoping that the North Carolina luminary would reissue some of his earliest works of his career once they saw the titles of some of the episodes. “The Come Up” went on to spawn his first mixtape that same day. Then, on Friday, he would drop off want many view to be his first true classic project, The Warm Up (2009). It’s also one of his most important releases of his journey to superstardom thanks to some key tracks.
“Lights Please,” also one of his earliest hits, was essentially the record that convinced the almighty JAY-Z to sign J Cole to Roc Nation. We can see why this was the one to win him over, as the wordplay and storytelling are top notch. The frustrating accounts of the Dreamville boss being with a woman who only wants her desires met while he tries to develop the relationship by sharing his dreams and stresses is heartbreaking. Because of this, it’s one of Cole’s best “love” records too, if you even want to call it that. There’s no wonder why he put this on The Sideline Story just two years later.
I told her all about how we been livin’ a lie And that they love to see us all go to prison or die Like, “Baby, look at how they show us on the TV screen” But all she ever want me to do is unzip her jeans Then all I really want is for her to get on top Before you know it, she workin’, jerkin’ it nonstop
J. Cole’s sophomore mixtape, 2009’s The Warm Up, is now accessible across Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. While many J. Cole supporters consider The Come Up, Vol. 1 his breakout, The Warm Up was undeniably his breakthrough.
As Cole lore goes, the project’s single, “Lights Please” caught Jay-Z’s attention which lead to a deal with Roc Nation. The rest is hip-hop history.
Following its release, J. Cole’s longtime friend, manager, and business partner Ibrahim ‘Ib’ Hamad took to X (formerly Twitter) to talk about the challenges in getting the project onto the music servers.
“Took us 15 years, but I’m so happy we’re able to get this up,” he wrote. “This project is very special to me, shit really put Cole in the game, and we ain’t look back since. Forever grateful for this project, legit changed n****s lives forever.’”
Continue below to view the tracklist and artwork for J. Cole’s The Warm Up.
Tracklist
1. “Intro (The Warm Up)”
2. “Welcome”
3. “Can I Live”
4. “Grown Simba”
5. “Just To Get By”
6. “Lights Please”
7. “Dead Presidents II”
8. “I Get Up”
9. “World Is Empty”
10. “Dreams” featuring Brandon Hines
11. “Royal Flush”
12. “Dollar And A Dream II”
13. “Water Break (Interlude)”
14. “Heartache”
15. “Get Away”
16. “Knock Knock”
17. “Ladies” featuring Lee Fields and The Expressions
18. “Til’ Infinity”
19. “The Badness” featuring Omen
20. “Hold It Down”
21. “Last Call”
22. “Losing My Balance”
Artwork
Cole World Inc
The Warm Up is on streaming now via Cole World Inc./Interscope. Find more information here.
We knew it was coming. J Cole set a thrilling precedent when he dropped his debut mixtape, The Come Up, Vol. 1 on streaming platforms. The release coincided with Cole’s new podcast, in which he revisits his old material in the lead up to his final album. It didn’t take long for fans to put two and two together, and realize that The Warm Up was coming next. J Cole made good on the hype November 22. The same day Kendrick Lamar dropped his album, GNX, the Dreamville founder treated fans to his first classic release.
We’re happy to report that The Warm Up still holds up incredibly well. The evolution that J Cole makes from his first tape to this one is evident in just about every facet. His rapping is better, as evidenced by the handful of astounding freestyles. His songwriting is better, as evidenced by the signature Cole tune “Lights Please” and the underrated bonus track, “Losing My Balance.” J Cole’s production also takes a quantum leap forward. The beats for “Grown Simba” and “World Is Empty” are evocative of a talent far beyond his years. “Get Away” and “Hold It Down” remain some of the best songs in the rapper’s entire catalog. It’s a beautiful thing to see this mixtape get added to streaming, so fans can revisit it, or enjoy it for the first time.
Let us know what you think of this brand new album, in the comments section down below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
J Cole and Drake have quite the complex relationship these days, but their bond and their parallel trajectories have too much history to completely vanish all because of a massive rap beef. Moreover, the former recently praised the latter during the latest episode of his Inevitable audio series with his manager and Dreamville cofounder Ibrahim Hamad, plus filmmaker Scott Lazer. Specifically, the North Carolina rapper compared his skillset to the Toronto superstar’s, and also drew connections between their styles, how Drizzy impacted what Cole wanted to release, and how this all affected his Lights Please and The Warm Up mixtapes.
“Like, the only one with that perspective, and that sharp of a pen,” J. Cole’s comments began. “And I was like, ‘Yo, that’s gon’ be my thing.’ Like, that’s what’s going to separate me from the pack. So the second I heard that freestyle that Ib is talking about, the Drake freestyle, one, I was blown away because of how good it was. But two, subconsciously, I was like, ‘Ha.’ There was someone else out there the whole time, that was working maybe just as hard as I was working, and was thinking the same things, maybe. Who had the same opportunities to come and occupy a certain space and lane that I never saw any competition for. And right away, I saw, like, ‘Oh, s**t.’ Not only is this n***a nice, but then, when So Far Gone dropped, now it became – Because I didn’t know how big Drake was.”
“Here’s a n***a that’s been training up in some of the similar areas and also he has his own unique abilities, the same way I have my own unique abilities,” J. Cole said of Drake. “But I’m like, ‘Yo. Not only am I not the only one in this space, I’m now actually starting late.’ My deal with Jay ain’t even done, you know what I mean? Like, I’m not even anybody yet. Like, n***as don’t even know me yet. And this n***a’s off to the races with joints. Like, hits, like, cultural shifting s**t. So, to Ib’s point and what Ib was getting at and where I think we end this was, at that moment, I had to shift my mindset and we had to shift our mindset about what The Warm Up was about to be. It no longer could just – ’cause Drake just changed the game.”
Drake’s So Far Gone was an incredibly influential and pioneering mixtape for how it changed expectations about the nature and quality of tracks one could find on a project of its caliber. J. Cole’s freestyles over classic beats were no longer enough, and it’s wild to see how both their artistic trajectories became so much more.
While we are all still waiting on The Fall Off to arrive, J Cole still did a pretty cool thing last night. The legendary North Carolina rapper and producer brought his debut mixtape, The Come Up Mixtape Vol. 1 to streaming. The May 2007 release is one of three coveted projects prior to his debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. This tape was brought out thanks to MC delivering his new audio series Inevitable. He announced that over the weekend, it’s going to be 10 episodes, and will reveal some cool BTS of Cole’s career leading up to 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
As it stands, fans are speculating that we could be getting all three of these foundational mixtapes. That’s especially because The Come Up was dropped in tandem with the first episode which was also titled after the project. If that’s true, then we will also have The Warm Up on November 22 and Friday Night Lights on November 27. It’s an exciting thought, but for now, we are revisiting one of J Cole’s earliest hits, “Simba.” Here, you are getting him at his hungriest as he likens himself to Simba from The Lion King, as the heir to rap throne, which he believes belonged to his soon-to-be mentor, JAY-Z. Overall, it’s a motivational anthem. Additionally, it’s an early look into how his writing and flows would evolve.
Man, I’m hungry, does it show? Ain’t nuttin’ funny, f*** a joke I’m gettin’ money ’til my pockets need a tummy tuck, I hope You n****s woke now, impermanently send you to hell You meet the devil, sign a permanent lease, word on the streets Is I’m the prince n****, check the splendor, and I can’t wait To be the King, n****: young Simba, word on the streets
A funny thing about streaming: It’s very hard to stream certain projects from certain artists, particularly from early in those artists’ careers. While anything from politics to rights issues can keep fan-favorite mixtapes and curios off DSPs for interminable periods, J. Cole fans woke up to a treat today; his 2007 debut mixtape, The Come Up, Vol. 1, is finally available to stream, nearly 17 years after its release. While it’s five songs shorter due to Cole’s inability to clear every instrumental from the original 21-track collection, the fact that he produced 12 of those songs himself likely helped.
The timing of the release is fortuitous, although some might call it convenient. After alienating some fans with his “7 Minute Drill” pump fake earlier this year, Cole’s been working overtime to get back in their good graces. Deleting the ill-advised battle rap track from streamers may not have earned him many fans, but his recent moves seem geared toward shoring up the remaining support he has from his hardliners. After sharing “Port Antonio,” which addresses his reasons for removing “7 Minute Drill” from DSPs, he announced a podcast, Inevitable, a collection of conversations between Cole and his longtime business partners Ibrahim Hamad and Scott Lazer detailing his creative process.
You can officially listen to The Come Up, Vol. 1 on your favorite DSPs, including Apple, Spotify, and Tidal.
Together with longtime business and creative partners Ibrahim Hamad (who also serves as Cole’s manager and cofounder of Dreamville) and Scott Lazer (Filmmaker, Creative Director), J.Cole released a new limited audio series titled “Inevitable.” It will take listeners on an unfiltered voyage through his life, career, and personal evolution, using both released and unreleased music to guide the story.
Check out the first episode of Season 1 and purchase the full seriesHERE
Titled “The Come Up” after J. Cole’s debut mixtape, the first episode dropped yesterday evening followed by the project’s release on official streaming platforms. This is the first time the mixtape has been made available on DSPs since its debut in 2007.
J Cole is taking stock of his career and his place in the rap game. The Dreamville founder recently launched the podcast Inevitable. It will give Cole the chance to talk about the making of his most iconic songs, as well as build anticipation for his final album, The Fall Off. Naturally, the rapper kicked things off by discussing his debut mixtape, The Warm Up, Vol. 1. It was during the discussion of this tape that Cole decided to wax poetic on the importance of Kanye West. An artist who has mocked him repeatedly in the last eight months.
Kanye West’s influence on J Cole has never been a secret. The latter rapped on three West beats for The Warm Up, Vol. 1. Cole also used Ye’s classic “Last Call” as the template for his 2009 mixtape, The Warm Up, as well as his 2014 album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. J Cole is, and always will be, a son of Kanye West, and he said as much during the first episode of Inevitable. “He became my favorite artist,” Cole recalled. “He kinda cracked my mind open. Kanye was the first time I saw myself in somebody.” J Cole went on to praise West for expanding the parameters for what a hip hop song could.
“He just made it possible to talk about your life or regular perspectives in a way that’s appealing,” J Cole added. “I didn’t know how to talk about my life. And then, f**king Kanye West happened.” It was touching to hear the Dreamville honcho reflect on such a formative moment in his career. It’s also a somewhat odd time to share this information. After all, Kanye West insulted J Cole on the “Like That” remix in April. “Play J Cole, get the p**sy dry,” he rapped. Play this sh*t back a hundred-thirty times.” West doubled down on this stance during an appearance on The Download podcast.
West felt that Cole was a “p**sy” for apologizing to Kendrick Lamar amidst the Big Three beef. “F*ck all that sh*t. Because, like that n**ga J Cole went on tour with Drake, he know what it is. You can’t put Cole and ‘up’ in the same sentence.” J Cole’s comments on the Inevitable podcast mark the first time he has spoken about Kanye West since these insults were made. Obviously, the rapper is opting to take the high ground and focus on cementing his legacy.
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