J Cole is indulging in a lot of nostalgia these days alongside his fans. He released new versions of 2014 Forest Hills Drive with bonus tracks for its tenth anniversary, put his early mixtapes on streaming for the first time, and even launched an audio series titled Inevitable going over his career. But this means that the North Carolina rapper also reflected on some previous mistakes, which has apparently been a months-long process. Moreover, former NBA player Shane Battier recently revealed on his podcast that Cole actually apologized to him earlier in 2024 (specifically this summer) for dissing him on the Cole World: The Sideline Story track "Rise and Shine."
"We in two different games, you playing patty cake / Brother you’re lame, you’re Shane Battier," J. Cole rapped on the cut 13 years ago. For those unaware, Cole is a big supporter of his UNC Tar Heels, the NCAA basketball team whose rivals are Duke. Shane Battier played for Duke, and the Miami Heat champion explained on his Glue Guys podcast that he just saw this as a stray shot from a passionate sports fan.
Shane Batter Recalls J Cole Apologizing To Him
But then, Shane Battier told the story about how, one day, he was eating dinner in Miami when a waiter told him that J. Cole was there and wanted to apologize to him. "I’m like, ‘Who’s bulls**tting me here?’" Battier joked. "Like, there’s someone yanking my chain. Like, 'Ha ha, very funny. I get it, guys. I’m lame.' And, sure enough, I go around the corner and J. Cole was way bigger than I thought in real life. Basketball, like, 6’5", he’s a big dude. And he’s like, ‘Hey man, I was praying for this moment, that we would have this moment to where I could say, you know what, man, my bad, I was young.’"
Of course, many hip-hop fans out there probably can't hear this story without thinking about J. Cole's apology to Kendrick Lamar for dissing him earlier this year. But it just goes to show how big Cole's heart can get, even when he doesn't need to clarify a 13-year-old diss. Props to Shane Battier for respecting the mutual UNC/Duke hate and taking it like a champ!