J. Cole Has Confirmed That Drake And Kendrick Lamar Were Originally Intended To Feature On ‘The Fall-Off’

J. Cole has confirmed that Drake and Kendrick Lamar were initially set to feature on The Fall-Off.

In a detailed interview with Cam’ron, J. Cole, the founder of Dreamville, explained that both Kendrick and Drake were to be included in his latest album. However, following a 2024 rap battle and a leak of his project, he decided to remove them from the tracklist.

“[Kendrick] was on two joints,” he stated, affirming a previous claim by podcaster Mal that both artists had multiple appearances on an early version of The Fall-Off.

Cole added, “That was part of my vision for it, having both of these guys involved. As I wrap up my career, I wanted to celebrate the fact that I am grateful to have done this alongside these artists.”

The North Carolina artist shared that he had mixed feelings about Kendrick’s verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That,” which sparked tension between Kendrick and Drake. He felt it disrupted the rollout for The Fall-Off, which he planned to release shortly after his Might Delete Later mixtape.

“I had two reactions,” he noted. “My first reaction is: that verse is impressive. The beat is great, and I thought, ‘That’s tough.’ My second reaction was: not now, this is inconvenient for me.”

Cole explained that he recorded his subsequently deleted Kendrick diss track “7 Minute Drill” due to pressure to respond to “Like That” before releasing The Fall-Off.

“My phone was blowing up immediately like, ‘Please, make a move!’ That’s the energy I felt from my supporters,” he recalled. “In reality, do I feel disrespected? There wasn’t any disrespect in Kendrick’s verse. I didn’t listen and think, ‘Wow, what did he say?’

“My feeling was frustration! I’ve been working on this album for eight years, plus my mixtape as a lead-up, and I knew people wouldn’t let me release it until I addressed this.”

Reflecting on “7 Minute Drill,” Cole acknowledged he held no negative feelings toward Kendrick when writing it and viewed it as friendly competition.

“There was no malice in my heart. I didn’t have any desire to ‘demolish’ him,” he said. “I care for him, but I was concerned about public perception.

“It is embarrassing to admit, but it’s true. I was worried that this project, which I’ve dedicated so much time to, would go unappreciated if I didn’t respond.

“So I thought, ‘Let me say just enough to seem like I addressed it.’ Everything I’m expressing, I know and he knows, is manageable. I’m not delivering any fatal blows.”

However, following his public apology at Dreamville Fest, Cole quickly regretted his choice.

“Immediately after it was released, I realized I had created a dividing line where I was forcing people to choose sides, and they were taking some of what I said and amplifying it. Then my thought became, ‘I made a mistake. I’ve misrepresented myself,’” he admitted.

At 41 years old, he expressed feeling “heavy” about the potential harm to his friendship with Kendrick, which led him to step back from “7 Minute Drill” and publicly apologize to his collaborator on “Forbidden Fruit.”

“The idea for the apology came to me just an hour before, and I felt like this was a significant moment for me,” he said. “I was unconcerned about the immediate backlash because I knew, in my heart, that what I did was right for myself.”