J. Cole reflects on Kendrick Lamar & Drake beef with explosive new track 'Port Antonio'

J. Cole's latest surprise drop features a few pointed references to both Drake and Kendrick Lamar, exposing the rapper's thoughts about one of the most explosive diss battles in recent memory. The rapper's new single, "Port Antonio," has earned a flurry of shocked responses from fans far and wide, as Cole argues "I understand the thirst of being first that made 'em both swing / Protectin' legacies, so lines got crossed, perhaps regrettably / My friends went to war, I walked away with all they blood on me."

By now, Kendrick Lamar and Drake have stopped throwing vicious verbal jabs at one another on wax, though their brutal feud has continued to dominate the field of pop culture at large. As most hip hop heads will recall, the two rap legends traded blows on a number of tracks back in May, culminating in Lamar's smash-hit "Not Like Us," which recently shattered the record for longest-running track to remain at number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap songs chart. Clearly listeners around the globe are not ready to move past this beef, and neither is North Carolina rapper J. Cole.

J. Cole's latest track, "Port Antonio," released on Wednesday night, reveals the rapper's first thoughts on the beef since he graciously bowed out of the competition back in April. As many fans will recall, Kendrick kicked off the feud by dissing both Drake and J. Cole during a guest appearance on Future and Metro Boomin's chart-topping track "Like That," where the Compton rapper states "M-----f--k the big three, n***a it's just big me."

Cole was the first to respond, with a song titled "7 Minute Drill" off his surprise mixtape Might Delete Later. The song offered some light jabs at Kendrick's catalogue, output frequency, and longevity. Much to the shock of J. Cole fans everywhere, however, the Dreamville head honcho renounced the song just days later during a live performance, arguing that Kendrick was "one of the greatest m-----f-----s to ever touch a f----n' microphone," and promising to remove "7 Minute Drill" from streaming services.

Now, Cole is finally reflecting on the direction that the epic rap feud went, explaining that he never intended to become wrapped up in such a brutal back-and-forth. In "Port Antonio," he raps "I pulled the plug because I 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."

Elsewhere in the new song, J. Cole shouts out both Kendrick Lamar and Drake, exemplifying his intention to remain neutral to both rappers, even though their rap beef became riddled with horrific personal jabs on both sides. Drake has already responded by leaving a "like" on the track via social media, though Kendrick Lamar has not yet weighed in. With any luck, "Port Antonio" could be the first step in mending the relationship between the so-called "big 3" rappers of the 2010s.