Royce Da 5’9″ Says J. Cole Is The Only Rapper Still Being Competitive In Hip-Hop

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2021 Revolt Summit
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 13: Royce Da 5'9 attends 2021 Revolt Summit at 787 Windsor on November 13, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/FilmMagic)
Royce Da 5’9″ says J. Cole is the only rapper still gunning for the number one spot.

Royce Da 5’9″ says J. Cole is the “only competitive” artist in the current landscape of hip-hop. Appearing on Joe Budden’s podcast, Royce reflected on how the genre has changed over the years with his Slaughterhouse partner. They also discussed where Cole ranks in comparison to Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

“I haven’t taken a real deep look out into the landscape but from where I’m sitting it looks like J. Cole the only one being competitive," he began "He’s the only one who’s rapping with the kind of conviction that says I still value the number one spot as a lyricist. I see a lot of the younger generations not really hanging their hat on just the lyrical part of creativity at all. They’re finding different ways to impact and resonate with people which is fine.”

J. Cole Performs With Drake During Dreamville Festival

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 02: J. Cole (L) and Drake (R) perform during the Dreamville Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 02, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)

“That’s when the elder statesmen like myself start learning,” he continued. “I wanna make myself understand why is this touching people like that. I can’t even understand what they’re saying. It’s definitely moving away from lyricism being the caveat, which I’m cool with ’cause there’s a lot more things I can do without being lyrical-lyrical.” Budden mostly agreed, listing Cole above Kendrick Lamar. “I got Cole as my one,” Budden said. “I’m hoping that Kendrick’s next album could try to fix that for me. Drake is doing his Chuck E. Cheese sh*t. Good for him. That’s it now. Yeah, that’s it.” Check out Royce's full comments on the podcast below.

Royce Da 5’9″ Speaks With Joe Budden

The two also discussed their expectations for Cole’s upcoming album, The Fall Off. That project will be a follow-up to his 2018 effort, KOD. Be on the lookout for further updates on Royce Da 5’9″ on HotNewHipHop.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
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