Rap’s Runway Rumble: J. Cole Fires Warning Shots in Drake vs. Kendrick Feud
The rap game has always been a cut-throat catwalk, with feuds and battles as commonplace as hemlines rising and falling with the seasons. This week, the simmering tension between hip-hop heavyweights Drake and Kendrick Lamar was thrown into sharp relief by an unexpected voice – J. Cole.
With his surprise EP “Might Delete This Later,” the fashion-forward rapper dropped some sartorial shade on contemporary Kendrick in the track “7 Minute Drill.” Borrowing a page from Jay-Z’s iconic Nas diss “Takeover,” Cole served up a scathing critique of Kendrick’s discography, rhyming “Your first shit was classic, your last shit was tragic.”
The lyrical molly-whop didn’t stop there, as Cole swiped at Kendrick’s lengthy hiatuses between releases, spitting “He averagin’ one hard verse like every thirty months or somethin’.” Ouch – though perhaps understandable given the droughts between Kendrick’s lauded collections.
For the fashion-forward set, Kendrick’s years-long disappearances from the spotlight have had a regrettable impact on setting trends. After all, can one truly be considered an icon if their looks are so few and far between?
Of course, any bitchy backbiting between rappers these days is sure to bring up parallels to the iconic Drake vs. Pusha T feud of 2018. On the scathing “The Story of Adidon,” Pusha went full mercenary mode, deploying ruthless disses about Drake’s origin story and secret child.
In comparison, Cole’s burn seems more akin to a subtle shoulder brush – shady, but not quite sending anyone stumbling off the catwalk. The lines “don’t make me have to smoke this nigga ’cause I fuck with him” and “I’m hesitant, I love my brother” suggest Cole is reluctant to go full scorched earth on his former friend Kendrick.
Still, by picking sides so overtly in the simmering Drake/Kendrick divide, Cole has deftly inserted himself into what may be shaping up as rap’s next great blood feud a la Biggie and Tupac. A genius marketing move, or a regrettable overreach? Only time will tell.
What seems clear is that despite his protestations of ambivalence, Cole has chosen to walk the runway in lockstep with his “Scary Hours” collaborator Drake. An understandable alliance, as their aesthetics have often proved simpatico – purveyors of a dapper yet laidback look that seamlessly blends streetwear inspirations with tailored flourishes.
Kendrick, meanwhile, has carved out a more avant-garde, edgy style era to era. From his breakthrough “good kid, m.A.A.d city” image to the transgressive, confrontational visuals of “To Pimp a Butterfly,” he’s the type to take risks their more commercially-oriented peers would never dare.
In siding so staunchly with Drake’s more mass-appeal style ethos, has Cole made an unseemly grab at the lucratively mainstream bag? Or is he simply staying true to his own signature fashion persona?
The fashion kiki rages on – and this couture-opened can of worms is sure to have the layers of drama unraveling for months to come. Brace yourselves, darlings; rap’s runway rumble has only just begun.
