J. Cole has shared an interesting behind-the-scenes detail, revealing that Kendrick Lamar was originally set to appear on multiple tracks from his highly anticipated album The Fall Off.
During a conversation with Cam’ron on Talk With Flee, Cole looked back on when he first heard Kendrick’s standout collaboration with Metro Boomin on “Like That,” and how it affected his own rollout plans.
“My first reaction is, that shit is hard… it’s a hard ass verse, undeniable,” Cole said. “The beat crazy, the song is ill… he went crazy.”
However, that admiration quickly shifted into a more complicated reaction.
“My second reaction is… not now,” he admitted. “This is inconvenient for me.”
At the time, Cole explained that he had just wrapped up a tour with Drake and was gearing up to release Might Delete Later, all while holding onto a nearly finished version of The Fall Off.
“I had this album finished… maybe a couple mixes left,” he said.
That’s when he dropped a major reveal—Kendrick had already been involved in the project.
“At that time… he was on two joints,” Cole shared, confirming that Lamar had laid down verses on more than one track connected to the album.
Cole also hinted at some behind-the-scenes challenges, suggesting parts of the project may have leaked early, which could have thrown off his rollout plans.
While it’s still unclear if those collaborations will ever be released in their original form, the revelation adds another layer to the long-running creative connection between Cole and Kendrick. The two have often been viewed as defining voices of their era—and more recently, found themselves on opposite sides during Drake and Kendrick’s ongoing feud.
