Joe Budden Finds J. Cole's Kendrick Lamar Apology Unacceptable

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Joe Budden says J. Cole taking back his Kendrick Lamar diss is unacceptable and puts the pressure on Drake to respond to K-Dot.

Joe Budden Responds to J.Cole Apology

On Wednesday (April 10), Joe Budden dropped the latest episode of The Joe Budden Podcast. After teasing that he'd be going full steam ahead on the current situation between J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar earlier this week, the rapper-turned-podcaster delivered on his promise. On the subject of J. Cole retracting his disses aimed at Kendrick Lamar on "7 Minute Drill," Budden had a two-sided response.

"What a bold, mature move for hip-hop," Joe said in the video below. "Very rarely do we see these type of mature moves. So, I wanna highlight that...If it didn't sit right with his soul and his heart and his spirit, and he wasn't up for the task, I'm not with the cosplaying."

However, on the flip side, Joe admitted the move upset him.

"This is totally unacceptable to me," Joe continued. "And I told y'all dudes that when these n***as was out there onstage frolicking and acting like they best buddies. These n***as get on stages and say anything. It's way too many clips going around of him saying that same speech to Drake about him being the greatest that he says to Kendrick about him being the greatest. Where do you truly stand?"

"I don't want to hear no more about ["7 Minute Drill"]," Joe added. "He didn't mean it. It sounded like he didn't mean it. His voice was trembling like he didn't mean it. His choice of words as one of the greatest lyricists says he didn't mean it. Honestly, what you did right now is make the 'Like That' record sound harder."

Joe then put the ball in Drake's court.

"What a position for Drake to be in," Joe added. "Drake has had a chance to see, even in Cole's half-hearted diss, it worked a little...Drake get to see what worked, what didn't work. How you are received when you go too fast. How you are received lyrically versus that. You just get to watch. It's like game tape."

Joe Budden Wasn't a Fan of J. Cole's Kendrick Lamar Diss to Begin With

Joe Budden's very expected reaction to J. Cole backtracking on the Kendrick Lamar diss record comes just days after Jermaine called the moment the "lamest, goofiest" thing he's ever done. When Cole dropped "7 Minute Drill" on Friday (April 5) as part of his surprise project Might Delete Later, Budden took issue with the Dreamville spitter's laidback delivery in his lyrical back-and-forth with Kendrick Lamar.

"The tone. This is my issue with this f**king narcoleptic-sounding s**t," Joe opined on a podcast episode from April 6. "This sounds like, if I was actively looking to cop fentanyl, this is what I would put on. I want to hear him [J. Cole] sound alive."