J. Cole is showing respect and taking the high road when it comes to Kanye West, despite Ye’s recent social media jabs. During his headlining set at Dreamville Festival on Sunday, Cole opened up about the backstory behind his hit single “Work Out” and credited Kanye as a major influence.
While performing, Cole took a moment to share how Ye’s music played a role in shaping one of his earliest hits. He explained that he was listening to “The New Workout Plan” from Kanye’s The College Dropout when inspiration hit him. “I know n****s feel a way about him right now, but I got love for [Ye] and I really appreciate him. He cleared all these f***ing samples for me,” Cole told the crowd. That moment led him to create “Work Out,” the lead single from his 2011 debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story. “It’s like it spoke to me,” he said, recalling how the sample pulled him in.
Cole’s praise comes just weeks after Kanye launched a harsh online attack aimed directly at him. In a string of posts on X, Ye declared, “I hate J Cole music so much.” He also suggested the industry pushed Cole to diss Drake. “Then we would have been accosted with a Cole Super Bowl commercial with no SZA song to save it,” Kanye wrote.
He didn’t stop there. “No one listens to Cole after losing their virginity,” Ye continued, before recalling a conversation with Drake during the Donda era. According to him, he told Drake that supporting Cole was “hurting hip hop” and praised Future instead.
The two artists have had a rocky history, with shots exchanged in tracks like Cole’s “False Prophets” and Ye’s recent remix of “Like That,” where he rapped, “Play J. Cole get the p***y dry.” Still, Cole kept it classy, focusing on the music, not the mess.
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