J. Cole kicked off his well-anticipated Off Season Tour in Miami, Friday night. No one expected an appearance from Drake and the memorable moment of hip hop history he brought with him.
Cole heated up this past week with the release of “Heavens EP”, a surprise freestyle over Drake’s “Pipe Down” from Certified Lover Boy. Cole caught fans’ attention with his bars but one line in particular drew a lot of opinions. He seemed to allude to acknowledging himself as the third best artist in comparison to Kendrick Lamar and Drake; a sentiment that didn’t sit right with the ‘6 God’.
Here’s the line:
Some people say that I’m running third, they threw the bronze at me
Behind Drake and Dot, yeah, them ni**as is superstars to me
Drake addressed those lyrics when he stepped out during the show last night (Fri. Sept. 24). “I just like, I gotta say this just cause I don’t always wanna have a heartfelt moment when we’re on stage together and sh*t,” Drake began. “But you did the “Pipe Down” freestyle the other day, right? You said in the freestyle about they handed you the bronze and whatever whatever, me and Kendrick. I want you to understand something. You are without a doubt one of the greatest rappers to touch a mic. I wanna let you know, there’s way too many people in the world that think and know J. Cole is at the top of the pole position. I love you with all my heart, you’re my brother, you’re one of my favorite artists and I appreciate you having me out here.”
Cheers to Hip Hop
A touching moment for the two titans but an even better moment for hip hop. We get caught up in the competitiveness of the game some times and create a jaded view of talent. Fact is, they both are great lyricists and are at a level in the game where you can’t really compare them. I appreciate Drake’s humility. He also performed some of CLB for the fans at American Airlines Arena.
How nice of him. Cheers to hip hop.
