J Cole surprised the hip-hop world on Tuesday night. The Fayetteville rapper popped up at a Bas concert in Irving Plaza to perform their joint single “Lit” alongside KQuick. It was a thrilling moment for the crowd, as Bas neglected to mention that Cole would be in attendance. He shout-outed his Dreamville boss, only to have him appear mid-song and rap his verse to screaming fans. It was also a nice moment of respite for Cole after the controversial statement he made at Dreamville Fest.
The “No Role Modelz” rapper has spent the last several weeks embroiled in a feud with Kendrick Lamar for hip-hop supremacy. Kendrick dissed him on the Future and Metro Boomin hit “Like That”, and Cole responded a few weeks later with “7 Minute Drill.” The reception to the latter track was mixed, with many feeling that Cole’s heart wasn’t into the feud. They were right. The rapper took the stage at his own fest over the weekend and issued an apology to Lamar. He dismissed “7 Minute Drill” as “lame” and vowed to take it off streaming platforms (which he has not done yet). The public fallout has been swift.
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Bas & J. Cole Performed Their 2014 Song “Lit”
Cole’s apology has been called “soft” by fans. Many have lobbied to have the rapper removed from the “Big 3” conversation he started around himself, Lamar, and Drake. Fortunately, Cole has had the support of his Dreamville roster during this difficult time. Ari Lennox and Omen praised the rapper for prioritizing his mental health over diss records, and vowed to stick by him. Bas hasn’t commented directly, but he did send a tweet that many have interpreted to be about the Cole situation.
Bas posted a screenshot of a text message that emphasizes the importance of loyalty. “I’ve been told yall n****s we the only family we got,” the rapper wrote. “But n****s always want to let the kids from across the street swim in our pool until they take a s**t in it…” Bas signed to Dreamville in 2013, making him the third-longest tenured behind Cole and the aforementioned Omen. The audience at the Bas show clearly enjoyed seeing J. Cole in action, which is a positive sign for both the label and the rapper’s future as a whole.
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