JID isn’t losing any sleep over J. Cole apologizing to Kendrick Lamar, and he doesn’t think anyone else in Dreamville should, either.
On the latest episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, JID met with the crew to discuss his new album, God Does Like Ugly, and he addressed the backlash surrounding Cole’s public apology for a diss track aimed at Kendrick last year.
For JID, the bigger picture is Cole’s loyalty to his artists, which is something the Dreamville rapper said outweighs any perceived embarrassment over a rap beef.
“They didn’t go public, but Dreamville sold Dreamville,” JID said. “Cole looked out for everybody that was a part of Dreamville. That’s one of the most beautiful things in hip-hop right there. That never fucking happens. And it happens to the regard where, if n***as on Dreamville that was a part of it don’t want to do music, and they just want to move on with their life, they would be good. Be straight. You do it because you love it.”
JID’s comments come after labelmate Bas told Elliott Wilson that after Dreamville ended its distribution partnership with Universal, Cole shared the payout from the deal with the entire roster. For JID, that generosity speaks volumes about Cole’s character.

“I’m just saying,” JID said. “If we want to speak to real shit in the industry, if we want to talk about an apology, apologize 30 more times. That is the greatest n***a on fucking Earth in this predatory ass industry. N***a was blessed in the most unimaginable, selfless … You ain’t have to do that. I know hella n***as who sold their subsidiaries or whatever … That’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in music.”
While people still debate over Cole’s apology to Kendrick, JID made it clear he’s firmly in Cole’s corner. Elsewhere in his interview with The Joe Budden Podcast, JID revealed he recorded a 15-track joint album with Cole.
“Me and Cole got a body, a 15-track smoker. Me and him, back and forth,” he said. “We worked on this shit in New York, I ain’t never told nobody this. Sorry, Cole.”
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