Everybody scored the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle like Drake took the loss and that was the end of it. 50 Cent sees a different loser. On “The Crew Has It” podcast on Tuesday, he said J. Cole is the one who “paid the most,” because Cole bowed out.
50 told host Andrew Schulz that competing is part of hip-hop culture, and the mistake is opting out of the competition. Cole did exactly that in April 2024. He dropped “7 Minute Drill” at Kendrick, then apologized onstage at his own Dreamville Fest days later and pulled the song from streaming. That cleared the field, and Drake and Kendrick went to war without him.
50 still gave Cole his flowers in the same breath. He called him one of the coolest people to ever grace hip-hop, a guy with no jewelry who rides a bike to the studio. In 50’s words, there is nothing to rob from him. The respect is real. So is the verdict: in a culture built on competition, the guy who walked away from the biggest battle of the decade paid the highest price for it.
“I think J. Cole paid the most.”
50 Cent, on “The Crew Has It”
As for Drake, 50 says he asked him face to face in Canada what he actually lost in the battle. Drake’s answer was one word: “Nothing.” 50 told him not to get emotional about what people were saying, because that part passes. Two years later, that is the part still getting argued about.
See also: 50 Cent says Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt” anniversary is just great marketing and Keefe D got 40 years to life for Tupac’s murder.