50 Cent Says J. Cole Sitting Out the Kendrick-Drake War Cost Him More Than Anyone

Search sneakers, brands, or styles…SHOPSTYLESNEAKERSMUSICSPORTSPOP CULTUREBETSCOVER STORIESVERZUZWATCHCOMPLEXCONMusic50 Cent Says J. Cole Sitting Out the Kendrick-Drake War Cost Him More Than AnyoneHe did commend Cole for being “one of the coolest people to grace hip-hop culture.”ByTrey AlstonOctober 14, 2026CommentsCommentSaveShareCommentsComments (Photo by Frazer Harrison/WireImage)/ (Photo by Rainer Keuenhof/Redferns)/ (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)/(Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA)Key Takeaways50 Cent argued that J. Cole “paid the most” in the 2024 Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle because competition is central to hip-hop and Cole chose to opt out.He still praised Cole as “one of the coolest people to grace hip-hop culture,” pointing to Cole’s low-key lifestyle and confidence without jewelry or other status symbols.Cole released the Kendrick diss “7 Minute Drill” before apologizing at Dreamville Festival, removing the track from streaming, and later explaining that his love for both Kendrick and Drake outweighed the pressure to compete.50 Cent has thoughts about how J. Cole gracefully bowed out of Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s back-and-forth beef in 2024.

Appearing alongside Andrew Schulz on The Crew Has It podcast on Oct. 13, Fif explained why he believed J. Cole was the biggest loser in one of hip-hop’s biggest battles ever.

“I think it’s a part of hip-hop culture to compete,” Fif said around the hour and fifteen-minute mark. “The mistake is when you opt out of the competition. I think J. Cole paid the most.”

Though Fif felt like Cole lost, he credited the North Carolina rapper for being non-traditional in the hip-hop space. “He’s one of the coolest people to grace hip-hop culture, and he’s been able to do things to show that his confidence isn’t connected to the little things,” Fif said. “There’s no jewelry. J. Cole would ride a bike to the studio. So there’s nothing to rob from him.”

In the midst of the lyrical kerfuffle between Drake and Lamar, Cole dropped “7 Minute Drill” on the project Might Delete Later, which took aim at Kendirck. Days later, Cole addressed the track at his Dreamville Festival, calling it the “lamest shit” he’d ever done and raising the white flag. He also removed the song from streaming services.

Earlier this year, Cole spoke to Apple Music about his decision to apologize to Lamar, reflecting on how his turmoil on what to do brought his wife to tears.

"I told my wife. She the only one I told, I ain't tell nobody else. I’m like, 'Yo, this what I'm about to go do.’ She starts crying because she knows I feel about him," Cole explained. "And she saw how it was weighing on me the two, three days before that."

Cole added that he “felt even better” after he announced the apology and revealed elsewhere in the interview that he has “genuine love” for both Lamar and Drizzy, despite their feud.

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