T.I. has given props to J. Cole for apologizing to Kendrick Lamar after dissing him on “7 Minute Drill.”
During an interview on Big Boy’s Neighborhood on Thursday (May 16), the Atlanta rapper weighed in on the brief battle between K. Dot and Cole, which the latter controversially bowed out of.
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“I feel he chose peace and tranquility,” he said with a laugh when asked about Cole’s divisive apology. “You gotta have thick skin and really be unfazed and unbothered. And we don’t know the temperament or the sensitivity of Cole’s dynamic. We’ve never seen Cole upset. We don’t know where that would take him.”
He added: “I think that was quite mature of him.”
Check out the clip below, which begins at the 41:16 mark.
T.I.’s comments echo those of Black Thought, who also recently praised J. Cole for apologizing to Kendrick live on stage at his Dreamville Festival.
Appearing on the This Week in White Supremacy podcast earlier this month, The Roots MC said: “Though I hadn’t heard any of the music, I thought it was a beautiful thing. That was what was unprecedented.
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“What we’ve seen, time and time again since the ’80s, are MCs going back and forth, like battling out. Sometimes they keep it to the record, sometimes it gets physical and it gets crazy.”
He continued: “What we’ve yet to see is somebody nip that in the bud, right? That’s what I felt like he was in effect doing. It just showed humility, nobility and a sense of elevation that you don’t see too often across the board.
“When the plane’s going down, you gotta situate your own oxygen mask first. He’s been on a trajectory of just that, self-revelation, and investing in himself.”
Tip and Thought are in the minority when it comes to their opinion, though. Cole has faced plenty of backlash and ridicule from fans and fellow rappers, including childhood hero Kanye West.
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When asked about the Dreamville boss’ apology in a recent sit-down with Justin Laboy, Ye snapped: “Fuck all that pussy shit. Fuck all that shit, man. Because it’s like, that n-gga J. Cole went on tour with Drake. He knows what it is. It’s like, n-gga, you can’t run now.”
Laboy then asked the Chicago rap icon if apologies are “allowed” in rap beef, to which he said: “I don’t know, man. I don’t listen to J. Cole so I wouldn’t even know. I just heard he had a song called ‘False Idols’ [sic] and somebody told me it’s halfway about me.”
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50 Cent, Suge Knight and Dame Dash have also criticized Cole for backing out of his battle with Kendrick Lamar.
