Since the start of the infamous beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, J. Cole has kept his stance clear in the drama. While all three are heavyweights in hip-hop and have had their share of interactions and collaborations, Cole has maintained a fairly neutral stance in the dispute- especially after the diss track he dropped during his beef with Lamar. However, Cole quickly expressed his regret for his actions and officially distanced himself from the situation- leaving fans to speculate about the potential reasons behind the move.

Now, months after the war's conclusion, J. Cole has opened up about his true motivations for stepping back from the rap beef.

J. Cole is often viewed as someone who is more focused on his own music and message than on getting caught up in rap feuds. He even addressed the question of why he backed out of the beef in one of his tracks. On Wednesday, the ‘She Knows’ singer dropped a new song called 'Port Antonio,' where he tackled this topic. He explained that the whole rap war between Kendrick Lamar and Drake was really just about chasing clicks and lining pockets. “I would've lost a bro, I would've gained a foe, and all for what?”, the rapper sang.

J. Cole raised the white flag and apologized for dropping '7 Minute Drill,' a track he released in response to Kendrick Lamar's warning on 'Like That', before bowing out of the beef. It was done at his Dreamville Festival in North Carolina, where he also shared that he felt "lame" and "terrible" for dissing the Pulitzer-winning rapper. Later on, the track was pulled from streaming platforms. After Cole stepped back from the great rap war, members of the hip-hop community shared their two cents on the situation, including Ye, aka Kanye West. 

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Ye not only dissed J. Cole for his apology to Lamar but also released a diss track aimed at both the ‘Work Out’ singer and Drake.

Soon after J. Cole publicly apologized to Kendrick Lamar, Ye jumped into the beef with his own opinion. During a sit-down on The Download podcast, Ye shared his thoughts on J. Cole dropping ‘7 Minute Drill’ only to backtrack days later, calling it a “pu**y” move. He also took aim at Cole for trying to distance himself from the drama after collaborating with Drake for ‘First Person Shooter’ and its tour.  

“***k all that **it. Because, like that n***a J. Cole went on tour with Drake, he know what it is,” said Ye. He even previewed his verse on the 'Like That (Remix)' to throw shade at both Drake and J. Cole. Regardless of the reasons, Cole's choice to back down from his feud with Kendrick Lamar has definitely led to some really mixed reactions among other players in the industry. 

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What do you think about J. Cole's explanation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!