50 Cent feels J. Cole’s apology for his Kendrick Lamar diss track “hurt” him in competing to be the best emcee ever.
During an interview with Hot97, Fif was asked his opinion on the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud. 50 called the battle “good for the culture” and thought that Drake had the upper hand going into the battle. However, the energy shifted once Kendrick returned swinging, pushing momentum in his favor and ultimately securing the win.
As the conversation continued, Fif was done with the topic of Drizzy and Kenny and wanted to spotlight the man who bowed out. “So what about J. Cole?” Fif asked, to which the room bursted out in laughter. “I’m just saying, the culture, the culture, the competitive nature of [the culture]…how?”
Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg explained that they were empathetic with Cole’s stance after he apologized at Dreamville Fest but were taken aback after recently dropping his “Port Antonio” track.
In the song, Cole asserted that had he not bowed out, he would have won the battle but would’ve lost a brother in the process. Fif then chimed in, saying, “You just said that ‘Feelings were valid,’ guys, you just said ‘Feelings were valid,’ that’s why when [Cole] stopped, he said ‘He could have lost a brother, but he would have lost the battle.’ Now, I was looking for J. Cole, like, I’m like, ‘Oh let me see what he gon’ do. And then when [he apologized] I was like, ‘Why did he do that?’ I wanted to call him and tell him, ‘Nooooooooo.’”
When Rosenberg asks whether or not the apology hurt his standings in the all-time list, Fif bluntly responds, saying, “Yes.” 50 Cent then offers a potential scenario that could arise from Cole releasing “Port Antonio.” He began thinking about how Cole asserting that he would have won the battle could lead to Kendrick questioning the emcee’s motives and readying another diss aimed at the Dreamville founder. “Boy, you in trouble,” he said, responding to his own hypothetical scenario.
