J. Cole is facing backlash after dropping a controversial line on his new album Might Delete Later. The lyrics in question appeared on the track, “Pi,” as Cole made a reference to transgender people.
“Is you a demon or is that demeanor for the ‘Gram? Tell us / They plead the fifth, I’m seeing hints of a trans fella,” Cole rapped. “In cancel culture’s vicinity, he’s no killer, trust me / Beneath his chosen identity, there is still a p***y, period.”
Trans people are going to social media to express their disbelief after hearing J Cole’s lyrics.
J Cole: Trans men will always have pussies
Me: a trans man who perfectly fine having a pussy. pic.twitter.com/cnr8dwk9l1— Pretty Like a TransReznor (@spiralnegro69) April 5, 2024
Some of J. Cole’s most loyal fans are also calling out the artist.
As a trans man and a “fan”, i really want J cole to explain these lyrics. 🥴 https://t.co/7zbgwCLgNS pic.twitter.com/7UCBQtYbvy
— ꗏ𝞀𝒾Ꮢ𝒾𝞃 ɵ𝟋 𝞃ປɮო⩜ⲛ 🇺🇸✊🏿🏳️⚧️ (@JUICE4PRES1DENT) April 5, 2024
J. Cole may have thought he was clever with the lyrics, but his attempt is now widely seen as foolish.
I was gonna post this last night but J Cole randomly being weird about trans men
I remember during the Noname feud he basically called himself a dumb man in need of educating, looks like that’s still true pic.twitter.com/kO1SYnC2F4
— The Virgo Leader 🇨🇩 (@thevirgoleader) April 5, 2024
It’s not clear if J. Cole was referring to anybody specific in his song. However, his “7 Minute Drill” track on the same album makes it clear that he still has a lot to say about the ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar.
“I got a phone call, they say that somebody dissin’ / You want some attention, it come with extensions,” Cole raps. “He still doing shows but fell off like ‘The Simpsons’ / Your first s**t was classic, your last s**t was tragic / Your second s**t put n**gas to sleep but they gassed it / Your third s**t was massive and that was your prime / I was trailing right behind and I just now hit mine.”
In the midst of bashing Cole for the line dropped in his “Pi” track, fans also resurfaced Lamar’s controversial 2022 song, “Auntie Diaries,” in which he raps about accepting his uncle’s transition.
“My auntie is a man now,” Lamar said in the song, also adding a homophobic slur in the track, per Complex.
Lamar fired shots at Drake and J. Cole when he recently released his “Like That” track, Bossip reported. Referring to “First Person Shooter,” a track Drake and J. Cole released in 2023, Lamar said “F**k sneak dissing/ ‘First Person Shooter,’ I hope they came with three switches.”
J. Cole boasted about his skills in the “First Person Shooter” track, rapping “Love when they argue the hardest MC/ Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me?/ We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammad Ali.”
Taking shots at Drake, who compared himself to Michael Jackson in the “First Person Shooter” track, Lamar said “n***a, Prince outlived Mike Jack.”
The beef between Drake and Lamar goes back more than a decade, according to Forbes. When he was featured on Big Sean’s “Control” track in 2013, Lamar dissed Drake and several other artists.
“I got love for you all, but I’m tryna murder you ni**as/ Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you ni**as/ They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you ni**as,” the 14-time Grammy winner rapped.
Sunday night, J. Cole backtracked on dissing Lamar and apologized as he took to the stage at Dreamville Festival.
J. Cole apologizes to Kendrick Lamar for dissing him on ‘7 Minute Drill’ at Dreamville Fest…
“How many of y’all think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest ever to pick up a mic”
“I haven’t been sleeping right the last few days… Ib, we taking that diss off streaming… pic.twitter.com/gafW1g6Hw9
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) April 8, 2024
As HipHopDX reported, he said, “I’m so proud of [Might Delete Later], except for one part. It’s one part of that s**t that makes me feel like, man that’s the lamest s**t I did in my f*****g life, right? And I know this is not what a lot of people want to hear. I was conflicted because: one, I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers. These two n****s that I just been blessed to even stand beside in this game, let alone chase they greatness. So I felt conflicted ’cause I’m like, bruh, I don’t even feel no way. But the world wanna see blood. I don’t know if y’all can feel that, but the world wanna see blood.”
He continued, “That s**t disrupts my f*****g peace. So what I want to say right here tonight is in the midst of me doing that, trying to find a little angle and downplay this n***a’s f*****g catalog and his greatness, I want to say right now tonight, how many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherf*****s to ever touch a f*****g microphone? Dreamville, y’all love Kendrick Lamar, correct? As do I. “I just want to come up here and publicly be like, bruh, that was the lamest, goofiest s**t. I say all that to say it made me feel like 10 years ago when I was moving incorrectly. And I pray that God will line me back up on my purpose and on my path. I pray that my n***a really didn’t feel no way and if he did, my n***a, I got my chin out. Take your best shot. I’ma take that s**t on the chin, boy. Do what you do. All good. It’s love. And I pray that y’all forgive a n***a for the misstep and I can get back to my true path. Because I ain’t gonna lie to y’all, the past two days felt terrible. It let me know how good I’ve been sleeping for the past 10 years.”
Cole also said that he would take the song off streaming services.