‘Port Antonio’: J. Cole reveals why he exited Kendrick Lamar, Drake rap battle

J. Cole had a solid reason to back off from Kendrick Lamar and Drake rap battle immediately, and now after six months, the rapper has addressed his exit.

The 39-year-old record producer has dropped a new track titled Port Antonio, where he addressed the escalating feud between him and fellow rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

The tensions started after Cole's bold declaration on Drake’s song First Person Shooter, where he named himself, Drake, and Lamar as the "Big Three" of rap.

In response, Kendrick Lamar fired back with a strong verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s track Like That, saying, “F--- sneak dissin’, first-person shooter / I hope they came with three switches... Motherf--- the big three, n----, it’s just big me.”

Before Drake had a chance to respond, J. Cole hit back with 7 Minute Drill from his surprise project Might Delete Later.

In the track, Cole took direct shots at Lamar’s body of work, saying, “Your first s--- was classic, your last s--- was tragic / Your second s--- put n----- to sleep, but they gassed it / Your third s--- was massive and that was your prime.”

He even described the song as a "warning shot."

However, the American hip hop artist seemed to regret his actions soon.

“I’m so proud of that project except for one part,” Cole said onstage at his annual Dreamville Fest in North Carolina. “One part of that s--- makes me feel like that’s the lamest s--- I ever did in my f---ing life.” He even took the diss off of streaming platforms.

On Port Antonio, the musician tried to further resolve the matter.

“I can see hate in both of your eyes but the third's blind,” Cole raps. “They instigate the f---ery because it's profitable / But singin' 'stop the violence' tunes when dudes in hospitals.”

Furher expanding on why he left the beef, “I pulled the plug because I've seen where that was 'bout to go /They wanted blood, they wanted clicks to make they pockets grow / They see this fire in my pen and think I'm dodgin' smoke / I wouldn't have lost a battle, dawg, I woulda lost a bro / I woulda gained a foe, and all for what? / Just to attain some mo' props from strangers that don't got a clue what I been aimin' for?”