Obama Shares His Thoughts on Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake 'Big 3' Debate

While on the campaign trail for Kamala Harris, Barack Obama stopped by the DeepCut studio to chop it up with celebrity barber Victor Fontanez, aka VicBlends. The two discussed a wide range of topics, including everything from Obama’s post-presidential life and charity work to his greatest influences and the role of electoral politics. But the most talked about portion came toward the end when Obama was asked about the “Big Three” battle involving Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole.”

“Now that the smoke has settled a little bit, do you think Kendrick Lamar has taken the No. 1 spot?” VicBlendz asked in the October 30 episode. The former president didn’t provide a direct answer but shared some kind words about his “friend” K.Dot.

“I’ve been knowing him for a long time. He actually performed at the White House,” Obama said, referring to Kendrick’s July 4, 2016 performance. “I’m pretty confident in saying not many presidents were familiar with hip-hop before I was president. I do think that Kendrick has a unique status right now, not just because of this summer… He’s not just gifted, he’s serious about the message… he digs deep into himself. He digs deep.”

Obama then shed more light on his relationship with Kendrick, saying they mostly discussed topics pertaining to fatherhood.

“Those are the questions he’s talking about,” Obama said. “He’s got a couple of young kids and he’s taking that very seriously.”

VicBlendz then gave a shoutout to Cole, who is from his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Obama also recognized Cole as a solid artist who was “very high on the list.”

“This is a lot like the MJ (Michael Jordan) vs. LeBron conversation,” he explained before shouting out one of his favorite rappers, Jay Z. “[Cole] is from your hometown, I respect you rolling with him. I’ve had J at the White House. He’s outstanding. J. Cole is outstanding.”

Although he didn’t mention Drake during the DeepCut sitdown, Obama previously described himself as a Drizzy fan. He praised the OVO boss during a 2016 interview on Sway in the Morning, where he was asked to name “the top rappers in the game.”

“I love Drake, and the girls love Drake,” he said, referring to his daughters Malia and Sasha Obama. “He’s commercially just doing great and [is] unbelievably talented.”