The tensions between Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and J. Cole have been a subject of fascination within the hip-hop community for years.
Recently, Kendrick’s feature on the song “Like That” from Future and Metro Boomin’s collaborative album We Don’t Trust You reignited discussions about the complicated dynamics between these three artists.
On the track, Kendrick seemingly takes shots at both Drake and J. Cole, a move that has sparked intense debates among fans and critics alike. The question arises: why would Kendrick target these two, and what is the history behind their interactions?
To understand the situation, we need to delve into the history of Kendrick and Drake’s relationship, which began positively. In 2011, as Kendrick was gaining recognition with Section.80, Drake extended an olive branch by featuring Kendrick on “Buried Alive” and even bringing him on tour.
The camaraderie didn’t last long, as things shifted in 2013 following the release of Kendrick’s now-infamous verse on Big Sean’s “Control.”
In this verse, Kendrick named several rappers, including Drake and J. Cole, declaring his respect for them while simultaneously asserting his competitive drive to surpass them all. For most listeners, this was viewed as a declaration of ambition rather than an attack.
However, Drake seemed to take it personally. In interviews, he dismissed Kendrick’s verse as an “ambitious thought,” downplaying its significance and hinting that it might have been a ploy for clout.
While Drake publicly claimed there were no hard feelings, his subsequent comments and actions suggested otherwise.
Kendrick wasted no time responding to Drake’s dismissive tone.
During the BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher later that year, Kendrick fired back with lines like, “Nothing’s been the same since they dropped ‘Control’ / And tucked a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes,” a clear jab at Drake’s Nothing Was the Same album.
Drake retaliated subtly through songs like “The Language” and features like The Game’s “100,” where he emphasized his dominance in the music industry. The tension between the two evolved into a rivalry marked by subliminal disses.
On tracks like “King Kunta,” Kendrick criticized ghostwriting in a thinly veiled reference to Drake, following accusations that Drake used uncredited writers.
Drake, in turn, claimed on The Game’s track that his pop success was a choice, implying that he could easily excel in a more traditional rap lane if he wanted.
By 2017, Kendrick escalated the rivalry with a more pointed diss in “The Heart Part 4,” where he mocked Drake’s claims of transcending rap: “Jay-Z Hall of Fame / Sit your punk ass down.”
These shots referenced statements made by Drake and his producer, who had described their music as existing in a “genre beyond rap.”
The feud continued through subtle jabs and veiled references in subsequent projects. Drake’s acknowledgment of Kendrick and J. Cole as his main competitors, as well as his critique of Kendrick’s hiatus, suggested lingering animosity.
For Kendrick, who took a five-year break from releasing music after 2018, these provocations seemed to accumulate, leading to his aggressive stance on “Like That.”
Drake wasn’t the only target on “Like That,” however. Kendrick also addressed J. Cole, who has long been considered part of the “Big Three” alongside Drake and Kendrick.
The trio has been celebrated as the leading voices in hip-hop for the past decade, with each artist carving a unique niche. Despite this shared pedestal, Kendrick’s verse on “Like That” dismissed the idea of the Big Three, instead claiming, “It’s just big me.”
He also directly referenced the collaborative song “First Person Shooter” by Drake and J. Cole, criticizing the narrative of their dominance and mocking Drake’s comparison to Michael Jackson by asserting, “Prince outlived Mike Jack.”
This line served as both a critique of Drake’s pop sensibilities and a declaration of Kendrick’s own artistic authenticity and innovation.
But why would Kendrick target J. Cole, who is often perceived as more neutral in the rap world? To understand this, we must examine the history of their relationship.
Kendrick and Cole were once close, with Cole even attempting to sign Kendrick early in his career. The two frequently collaborated in the early 2010s, and fans eagerly anticipated a joint album that was teased but never materialized.
Their friendship, much like Kendrick and Drake’s, eventually transformed into a rivalry. Kendrick’s verse on “Control” may have sparked this shift, as it included Cole among the artists Kendrick sought to “murder” lyrically, despite his respect for them.
This competitive spirit appears to have influenced their dynamic in the years that followed.
For his part, J. Cole has openly acknowledged his competitive nature and how it may have strained his relationships with peers like Kendrick.
In interviews, Cole has expressed regret over prioritizing competition over camaraderie in the past, though he has since sought to rebuild those relationships. However, the lingering effects of this rivalry are evident in their music.
Over the years, both artists have included subtle references to each other in their lyrics, with Cole perhaps feeling overlooked as Kendrick amassed critical acclaim and industry accolades.
Kendrick’s dominance on lists like MTV’s “Hottest MCs” and his numerous Grammy wins may have contributed to this tension.
One notable example of their subtle rivalry came in 2021 when J. Cole released “Johnny P’s Caddy” with Benny the Butcher.
In his verse, Cole declared himself the best rapper alive, a claim many fans interpreted as a response to Kendrick’s longstanding assertions of being the greatest.
Similarly, lines from Cole’s verse on “First Person Shooter,” such as “We The Big Three like we started a league,” appear to challenge Kendrick’s position within their shared hierarchy.
Kendrick, for his part, has used his music to address the dynamics between him and Cole indirectly. On his 2022 album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, fans speculated that the line “Ain’t nobody but the mirror looking for the falloff” was a reference to Cole’s anticipated album The Fall Off.
These kinds of subtle jabs have created an undercurrent of competition between the two, even as they publicly maintain that they respect each other.
The collaborative song “First Person Shooter” further complicated the dynamic. While J. Cole mentioned all three artists as part of the Big Three, Drake conspicuously omitted Kendrick, referencing only himself and Cole.
This omission, combined with Cole’s assertion that he feels like “Muhammad Ali”—a nod to being the greatest—may have been perceived by Kendrick as a dismissal of his contributions to the genre.
Kendrick’s response on “Like That” thus served to reassert his dominance, criticizing both artists for what he sees as complacency or a lack of artistic innovation.
The competitive nature of hip-hop often leads to these kinds of rivalries, where mutual respect and admiration coexist with a desire to outshine one another. For Kendrick, Drake, and J. Cole, their intertwining histories have been shaped by this duality.
While Kendrick’s return and his pointed verses on “Like That” reignite debates about who truly deserves the crown, they also highlight the complexities of these relationships.
At its core, the tension between the three is not just about competition but also about the changing nature of hip-hop and what it means to be the “best” in an era where artistry, commercial success, and cultural impact are all measured differently.
Ultimately, Kendrick’s diss on “Like That” is a culmination of years of subtle (and not-so-subtle) exchanges between him, Drake, and J. Cole.
It reflects not only his competitive spirit but also his frustration with how his contributions to hip-hop are sometimes framed or diminished by his peers.
Whether this track marks a turning point in their rivalry or simply adds another chapter to their ongoing saga remains to be seen.
For fans, however, it’s a reminder of why these three artists continue to captivate the genre and why their competition, as contentious as it may be, ultimately elevates hip-hop as a whole.
