50 Cent Says J. Cole ‘Paid the Most’ By Opting Out of Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake Battle: ‘It’s a Part of Hip-Hop Culture to Compete’

With well over two decades of experience, 50 Cent is well-versed in all things beef. Appearing on The Crew Has It podcast on Tuesday (Oct. 13), 50 explained his belief that J. Cole lost the most by dodging the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle in 2024.

“I think it’s a part of hip-hop culture to compete,” 50 told host Andrew Schulz. “The mistake is when you opt out of the competition. I think J. Cole paid the most.”

However, the G-Unit mogul did give Cole his flowers for moving as an artist in a way that’s non-traditional to hip-hop, but authentic to his brand. “He’s one of the coolest people to grace hip-hop culture, and he’s been able to do things to show that his confidence isn’t connected to the little things,” 50 added. “There’s no jewelry. J. Cole would ride a bike to the studio. So there’s nothing to rob from him.”

J. Cole fired away at Kendrick on Might Delete Later‘s top 10 Billboard Hot 100 entry “7 Minute Drill” in April 2024, but ended up apologizing to K. Dot onstage at his Dreamville Fest weeks later after scrubbing “7 Minute Drill” from streaming services, which effectively cleared the way for Drizzy and the Compton rapper to clash with Cole bowing out.

While 50 agreed that Drake lost the battle to Kendrick in terms of the feud, he’s continued to question what Drizzy actually lost in life and has shown support for the OVO boss in the years since the dust settled on the battlefield.

“I don’t think it was bad for hip-hop,” 50 added of the 2024 beef. “You know how bad people wanted Drake to lose? Even if the record is a loss in context as far as the battle is concerned. I was in Canada and we was talking, I said, ‘Let me ask you a question, what did you lose? I want you to think about it and tell me: What did you lose?’ And he said, ‘Nothing.’ I said, ‘OK, don’t get emotional about the state of what people are saying. That is gonna pass, bro.'”

The G-Unit mogul continued: “You see what happened? He put three albums out at once. Them sh–‘s performing because you can’t just replace him at the present moment. He’s a hybrid. He’s gonna give you good R&B music and some sh– that we actually like on some rap sh–.”

Drake returned with his May trifecta of albums (ICEMAN, HABIBTI and MAID OF HONOUR), which made Drizzy the first artist to ever hold the top three slots of the Billboard 200 simultaneously. He also added four new tracks to HABIBTI this month and brought the project back to No. 2 on the albums chart.

Watch the full interview below. 50 Cent talking about J. Cole’s role in the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle begins around the 1:15 mark.