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J. Cole says Dreamville Fest 2024 would've been a lot different if Drake showed up as planned.
On Friday, March 27, Cole appeared on Carmelo Anthony's 7PM in Brooklyn podcast to talk about basketball, the making of The Fall-Off, and his role in the Big 3 beef with Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Melo asked Cole about his apology to the Compton native during his set at Dreamville Fest in 2024. After breaking down the real reason why he apologized to Lamar, Cole addressed some of the misconceptions about the beef, including one rumor that Drake was supposed to pop out during his set.
"That actually is true," Cole replied. "He was supposed to be at Dreamville Fest. That was planned. He didn't come."
J. Cole was actually glad Drake didn't come through. At the time, the 41-year-old rapper had already felt bad enough that he misrepresented his thoughts and feelings about Kendrick in his song, "7 Minute Drill." Cole believed that if Drake had pulled up the way he wanted him to, he would've felt obligated to say some more things he didn't mean. Drizzy's absence also allowed Cole to do what he really wanted to do on stage. In a previous interview, Cole revealed that he came up with the idea to apologize to Kendrick on stage just two hours before his set started.
"I appreciate him for [not turning up]," he continued. "He's like, 'I didn't want to come down and put you in a situation on that stage and say something that you would have to stand behind.' And I'm like, 'Thank God that you didn't, because it left the space for me to receive what I was supposed to do.'"
Cole also addressed the rumor that he and K.Dot were supposed to appear on Drake's "First Person Shooter." While it would sound dope in theory, Cole claimed that Drake originally sent the beat to Kendrick, but he didn't get back to him in time, so he shot it over to him afterward.
"I'm not gonna say we were all supposed to be [on it]," he said. "[But] before that beat ever made it to me, I think Drake wanted that to be a him and Dot song."
Ironically, Cole also said that he tried to get Kendrick Lamar to appear during his set that year. Like any other rap fan, Cole said that he thought it would be crazy to get all three of them on stage together. However, as he notes, "there were other plans."
Watch the entire episode below.