Joey Badass Reminds Kendrick Lamar & J Cole Of His "Control" Response Amid Beef

BYGabriel Bras Nevares9.4K Views
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LaQuan Smith RTW Fall 2024 - Front Row
Joey Bada$$ at LaQuan Smith RTW Fall 2024 as part of New York Ready to Wear Fashion Week held at Cipriani 25 Broadway on February 12, 2024 in New York, New York. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
After K.Dot name-dropped Joey, Cole, and many others on his "Control" verse, the Pro Era lyricist was quick to fire back.

The civil war between Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake is ramping up now following Cole's "7 Minute Drill" response to the former TDE MC's disses. However, while this whole situation has folks remembering Kendrick's callout of other rappers on Big Sean's "Control" a decade ago, not enough people are remembering how these lyricists responded to him back then. At least, that's what Joey Badass thinks, as he took to Twitter on Friday (April 5) after the Dreamville boss' diss dropped with a simple message: "Never Forget," and a link to his "Killuminati Pt. 2" song's lyrics. On this song, he responded to Kendrick's "Control" shots with a lot of hunger, aggression, and boastfulness.

"No escaping, you in a swimming pool of champagne," Joey Bada$$ rapped against Kendrick Lamar on the Knwledge-produced track about 11 years ago. "You set yourself up for that one, mane / The King of New York? Ha! We ain’t just gon’ let that one hang." This seemed to be a direct address when it comes to J. Cole and Drake beefing with Kendrick right now, and in particular how folks are only keeping this debate to "The Big Three." As such, it seems like the New York spitter is opening it up to the entire rap game, and to names like his who fans might be overlooking right now in the face of "Like That" and "7 Minute Drill."

Joey Badass Seems To Throw His Hat Into Kendrick Lamar & J. Cole's Ring

Of course, Joey Bada$$ and Kendrick Lamar have shown each other a lot of respect and love over the years despite this competitive attitude. Still, this is pretty interesting since Kendrick never explicitly named Joey in his "Control" verse, yet naming himself the King of New York clearly and rightfully struck a nerve with the Pro Era boss. For now, at least, it seems like the general hip-hop community will keep this beef to "The Big Three," but there's still plenty of room to debate whether folks like Joey should replace one of them in conversations. Might this be a prelude to him making this a full-on lyrical attack, throwing his hat into the ring?

That seems unlikely, but it would certainly be pretty incendiary. As more reactions to "7 Minute Drill" pour in, folks will likely continue to bring up other rappers in this debate. But let's not act like this is the culmination of 11 years of silence; MCs have been challenging K.Dot for the throne for a while. For more news and the latest updates on Joey Bada$$, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole, stay posted on HNHH.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.
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