UPDATE: Turns out, our suspicions were correct: it was just a joke.
Punch returned to Twitter to let us know that in the land of Kendrick and Cole, there is hope yet.
But, he asks that we take it up with the two rappers in questions if we want any real answers on te project's status.
Original story:
According to Top Dawg Entertainment co-president Terrence “Punch” Henderson, that Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole collaboration project we’ve all been getting our hopes up for may never come to fruition.
It was Friday night that a Twitter user landed in on Punch’s feed, asking him, “When Cole and Kdot dropping that joint project?” In just two words early Saturday morning, Punch delivered the crushing blow, “Probably Never.”
The possibility of Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole hopping on a collaborative album together has been on the rumor mill for years now, first getting its start when the two were spotted together in the studio way back in 2012, and they seemingly cemented our speculation three years later when they dropped 2015’s “Black Friday” mix where Cole hopped on “Alright,” and Kendrick jumped on Cole’s ”A Tale of Two Citiez.”
Things went quiet following its drop until Ab-Soul confirmed that the project was the real deal in his appearance on The Breakfast Club in December of the following year, even hinting that he’d make a possible appearance.
“I can’t speak on that. I wish I could,” he revealed. “I’m saying these guys move like the Mob. You never know with these guys. I just hope they use my verse. They just need to use my verse.”
He was further prompted for official confirmation on the subject. “But there is a Kendrick-Cole album?” host Charlamagne The God asked.
“They got it. They got something in the works,” he said. “They’ve been working on that motherfucker for a while.”
Follwing his interview, another roll of silence ensued until Punch’s recent tweet.
But judging by the way that both artists move in this industry, the tweet can go one of two ways: he’s either dead serious, or just trying to throw us off the path. We’ll continue to rely on the latter no matter how far-fetched.
Currently both K.Dot and Cole are on tour to support their DAMN. and For Your Eyez Only projects, respectively. While Kendrick just wrapped up his first leg alongside Travis Scott, Cole will wrap up the final scheduled show of his second leg on Sunday [August 20th].