Social media drama involving "Crank That" rapper Soulja Boy and acclaimed artist J. Cole has hit the internet. It appears Soulja Boy realizes that he felt he made a mistake, and took to X to apologize to Cole publicly. It all started when last week, on Lil Yachty's podcast, A Safe Place, J. Cole shared his initial response to Soulja Boy's 2007 breakout single, "Crank That." His comments indicated that he was less than thrilled with the track, sparking an unexpected feud. J. Cole's initial comments weren't offensive though. During the podcast, Cole had conveyed his initial skepticism toward Soulja Boy's music during the 2007 era. He confessed that at the time, he and his friends were more inclined to listen to artists like Three 6 Mafia and Lil Jon.
The emergence of "Crank That" and the new wave of Black culture penetrating the music scene had left him conflicted artistically and morally. "My real friends were playing Three 6 Mafia, Lil Jon when [Soulja Boy] came out…" J. Cole said. "Whatever the f**k was poppin’, whatever new rendition of Black culture was penetrating, like, music coming up, in the South, they were on. A lot of that s**t for me artistically, and what I stood for morally as an artist, I was conflicted. I turned from a hater to an appreciator. Like, what can I find that’s amazing about this? What can I find that’s good about this? What can I find that’s going on? That sh*t changed me as an artist. I became a better artist."
Soulja Boy Issues An Apology
However, over time, Cole explained how he underwent a transformation, evolving from a critic to an admirer. He also says he saw good in the ever-evolving music landscape. This change, he explained, had made him a better artist. Soulja Boy wasted no time in expressing his frustration upon hearing J. Cole's remarks. Taking to the digital realm, specifically X (formerly Twitter), the rapper vented his frustrations in a social media rant that started on Friday and concluded on the following Monday. "F**k y'all," Soulja Boy's rant started. "Y'all n**gas old, y'all n***as suck. Don't nobody listen to y'all type of music no more. After a couple of years passed, and I kept going platinum, 'Oh, we f**k with Soulja Boy, now.' The new generation making new hip-hop like how I was making. All that new music, they get to rock out because n***a, I kicked the door down."
However, in a surprising turn of events, Soulja Boy later issued an apology to J. Cole, acknowledging that perhaps he had reacted hastily. "My bad dawg. J. Cole, sorry for the confusion," Soulja Boy admitted. "Keep doing your sh*t. We [are] from two different worlds. I stand on what I stand on. It's hard coming from where I did, man. I dealt with a lot of hate my whole career, so it was just messed to think it would come from you 💯." According to Soulja Boy, Nicki Minaj also offered her perspective, explaining that J. Cole's comments were, in fact, a show of love and respect. Soulja Boy followed up, stating, "Nicki [Minaj] just told me I took what he said wrong and that he was showing love. So I'm gonna let it go. My bad, y'all, I really thought dude was hating on me 🤷🏾♂️."