J. Cole Confirms Kendrick Lamar Had Two Features on Early Version of ‘The Fall Off’

J. Cole dropped a bombshell during his sit-down on Cam'ron's Talk With Flee show on Tuesday. Kendrick Lamar recorded two tracks for an earlier draft of The Fall Off. Those songs didn't make the cut.

"I had The Fall-Off finished. I probably had to tweak a couple of mixes," Cole said. "At that time, I had been working on The Fall-Off, which was done, and by the way, somebody leaked it. I know who leaked it — it's cool he put it out there. He was on two joints."

The album arrived in February — no Kendrick. The final version brought together Burna Boy, Erykah Badu, Future, Morray, Petey Pablo, PJ, and Tems.

Cole described his first thoughts after hearing "Like That" in March 2024, where Lamar took shots at him and Drake over Metro Boomin and Future's production. "My first reaction is that sh** is hard. It's a hard a** verse, undeniable," he said. "The beat crazy, the song is ill. He went crazy."

That feeling changed quickly. "My second reaction is not now," Cole added. "This is inconvenient for me. Right at that time, I had just got off tour with Drake, and I had Might Delete Later in the chamber."

The North Carolina MC fired back at Lamar with "7 Minute Drill" in April 2024. He yanked the song from streaming platforms weeks later and offered an apology to Lamar at his Dreamville Festival that same month.

Cole explained to Cam'ron about how stepping away from the beef gave him fresh motivation. "2 years ago, after the events that still feed the algorithm to this day, I became incredibly re-inspired, and the album slowly blossomed into a double disc as the concept expanded," he wrote.

The MC told Cam'ron his feelings for both Lamar and Drake haven't soured. "I genuinely love these n****s, but I'm not gonna act like we've been communicating and talking," Cole admitted. "I've had conversations with them post-everything, but it's not like it's a lot."

The Fall Off hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The two MCs have collaborated before on "Forbidden Fruit" and Jeezy's "American Dream."