Drake and Kendrick Lamar‘s recent beef may have been crowned by some as the greatest rap battle of all time, but T.I. doesn’t believe the tension will linger between the Hip Hop titans.
The Atlanta rap veteran stopped by DJ Whoo Kid‘s Whoo’s House Podcast on Thursday (May 23) where he shared some thoughts on where he sees Drizzy and K. Dot going from here.
“It is probably one of the more exacerbated beefs I’ve seen,” he said of the pair’s recent clash. “All this stuff can’t be true, you know what I’m saying? Everything everybody’s saying can’t be true. Like, good God!”
He added: “I got respect for both of them and I think they both phenomenal hitmakers. I’m just waiting on the tour. After the disagreement, the only thing that’s gonna sell is the reunion.”
T.I. was then asked if he would want to see J. Cole on this hypothetical tour, completing the “Big Three” lineup.
“I don’t think he’d want to see [himself on the tour]!” he joked, referencing Cole’s decision to back out of the battle involving Kendrick and Drake.
If T.I.’s prediction were to come through, it would somewhat mirror another legendary rap beef that was squashed on stage.
After famously sparring on songs like “Takeover” and “Ether,” JAY-Z and Nas publicly reconciled in 2005 at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey during Hov’s I Declare War Tour.
T.I. previously weighed in on Drake and Kendrick’s feud during an interview with Big Boy earlier this month and applauded J. Cole’s divisive apology for dissing the latter on “7 Minute Drill.”
“I feel he chose peace and tranquility,” Tip said with a laugh. “You gotta have thick skin and really be unfazed and unbothered. And we don’t know the temperament or the sensitivity of Cole’s dynamic. We’ve never seen Cole upset. We don’t know where that would take him.”
He added: “I think that was quite mature of him.”
T.I.’s comments echo those of Black Thought, who also recently praised J. Cole for apologizing to Kendrick live on stage at his Dreamville Festival.
During a recent appearance on the This Week in White Supremacy podcast, The Roots MC said: “Though I hadn’t heard any of the music, I thought it was a beautiful thing. That was what was unprecedented.
“What we’ve seen, time and time again since the ’80s, are MCs going back and forth, like battling out. Sometimes they keep it to the record, sometimes it gets physical and it gets crazy.”
He continued: “What we’ve yet to see is somebody nip that in the bud, right? That’s what I felt like he was in effect doing. It just showed humility, nobility and a sense of elevation that you don’t see too often across the board.
“When the plane’s going down, you gotta situate your own oxygen mask first. He’s been on a trajectory of just that, self-revelation, and investing in himself.”
