A feud between these superstars has been brewing for a few years now. Kendrick Lamar has been taking shots for a while. Finally J Cole snaps back, and the world goes into a frenzy. Soon after the diss, J Cole apologizes to Kendrick, and the same people that were cheering turn their backs on the brother.
As a Gladiator of the Battle Arena, I feel I have the authority to speak on it. As far as Hip Hop is concerned, I agree with artists saying apologizing isn’t cool for the culture. I totally get it. But as a man of integrity, and a spiritual alignment with something greater than Hip Hop, his apology was necessary to comfort his spirit. I can totally respect that as I see it coming from a place outside of the box the fans keep us in.
In 1988, I had one of the most controversial battles in Hip Hop history against the Legendary Pioneer Melle Mel. It was the New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy.
The audience decided I beat Melle Mel fair and square. Instead of accepting defeat, The Pioneer took it to a whole other level. It wasn’t a physical altercation, but is was very disrespectful. Sort of like bullying. For years I was enraged by his actions. Every chance I got, I would verbally disrespect this man. As I got older, and began to shed all the hate in my heart, I began to find myself at peace within. I felt it was time to let go of the past and begin to embrace the future. I publicly apologized to Melle Mel for the disrespect. My intention was not to tarnish his legacy. When I apologized, I had a similar backlash like J Cole. I was called everything from STUPID to SOFT. I was told Mel didn’t deserve an apology, he started it!! That may have been true, and my ego wanted to keep going, but my heart felt otherwise. When I followed my heart, I felt totally relieved and happy. So at the end of the day, I can respect J Cole’s decision.
Anyone that knows my backstory can tell you, LL Cool J and me had a feud for decades (more me taking shots at him). We’ll save that story for one of our documentaries. Anyway, after years of attacking LL lyrically, I finally let it go and found peace in my heart. So if J Cole is soft for apologizing, that means I’m guilty as charged as well.
Here’s my apology to LL Cool J
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