J. Cole Reflects On The Drake/Kendrick Beef On New Song “Port Antonio”

Thanks to his recent verses on songs by A$AP Rocky, Daylyt, and Tee Grizzley, J. Cole is on something of a hot streak. Now, he’s back with a proper solo track, “Port Antonio,” which arrived by surprise last night on his Instagram. The song touches on Cole’s come-up and philosophy of hip-hop, but most notably, it plays like a postmortem on the Drake/Kendrick beef he famously bowed out of.

Produced by DZL, Omen, and Cole himself, “Port Antonio” is built around a mournful minor-key piano lick sampled from Cleo Sol’s 2021 track “Know That You Are Loved.” In the opening verse, Cole thinks back on his upbringing, when he coveted the fancy clothes of local drug dealers. Luckily, he was able to get rich off his pen,

I fiend for the perks that was seen flippin' birds, so
We was skipping church, but my eyes was on the sparrows
Niggas flippin' pies, spendin' thousands on apparel
Shit, I wanna shine too, I want dimes too
Jealous niggas wanna know just how my rhymes blew
Mano a mano, I’m Bono, I’m you times two

Most of the Drake/Kendrick stuff comes the second verse. Midway through, Cole offers a reasonable explanation for why he laid down his sword following the release of “7 Minute Drill.”

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?
Since the age of fourteen, Jermaine is no king
If that means I gotta dig up dirt and pay the whole team
Of algorithm-bot niggas just to sway the whole thing
On social media, competin' for your favorable means

Cole gets why Drake and Kendrick waged total war on each other. He just hopes fans will understand his reasons for retreating.

I understand the thirst of being first that made ‘em both swing
Protecting legacies, so lines got crossed, perhaps regrettably
My friends went to war, I walked away with all they blood on me
Now some will discredit me, try wipe away my pedigree
But please, find a nigga out that’s rappin’ this incredibly, uh

He ends with some words of encouragement for Drake, the consensus loser of the battle. Cole urges Drizzy to get back in the game and remember why he started rapping in the first place.

They say I’m pickin' sides, ayy, don’t you lie on me, my nigga
Then start another war, ayy, Drake, you’ll always be my nigga
I ain’t ashamed to say you did a lot for me, my nigga
Fuck all the narratives
Tappin' back into your magic pen is what’s imperative
Remindin' these folks why we do it, it’s not for beefin'
It’s for speakin' our thoughts, pushin' ourselves, reachin' the charts
Reaching your minds, deep in your heart, screamin' to find
Emotions to touch, somethin' inside to open you up
Help you cope with the rough times and shit
I’m sendin' love ‘cause we ain’t promised shit

You can read all the lyrics to “Port Antonio” on Genius now.