J. Cole Says Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Good Kid’ Album Gave Him a ‘Feeling of Surpassment’

Photo Credit: Simon Chasalow

J. Cole explored his relationship with Kendrick Lamar on the latest episode of the Inevitable podcast.

Cole and Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad revealed their reaction to Good Kid, M.A.A.D City after hearing singles before the release in a studio session.

“When Kendrick’s album dropped, the journey got harder, the mountain got steeper,” Cole said. “Because similar to when [So Far Gone] dropped, where it was like, ‘Oh sh—t, there’s another person out there that has the same ambitions as me,’ it happened like that with Kendrick.”

He added, “It was a feeling of surpassment. It was two indicators that told me. His first-week numbers were more than mine. The other thing was we had a show where we were both on the same lineup… and I went before him and he went after me.”

Cole would play two unreleased collaborations with Lamar, dropping off “Shock the World” and “Temptation,” which can be heard here.