7 Minute Drill

7 Minute Drill

J. Cole

“7 Minute Drill” serves as the anticipated response to Kendrick Lamar’s disses on “Like That,” which were aimed at Cole and Drake. Establishing this track as “a warning shot”, Cole interpolates lyrics from his mentor JAY-Z’s famous Nas diss track “Takeover” and casts shade on the consistency and quality of Kendrick’s discography.

This is the second time Cole’s used the 12th and final track of a project as a diss response, the first time being “1985” on his 2018 project KOD.

This track’s title references Cole’s “7 Minute Drills,” where he gives himself seven minutes to write as an exercise. He has spoken about this practice numerous times in interviews and documentaries, and has taught this practice to his Dreamville artists and frequent collaborators. This title implies that this response was composed during a seven-minute drill, which was likely chosen to emphasize the ease that Cole can write with.

Not even 48 hours after the song’s release, Cole would publicly apologize for the track and insist on removing it from streaming platforms during his performance at Dreamville Fest 2024 on April 7th:

I moved in a way that I spiritually feel bad on. I tried to jab my nigga back and keep it friendly, but at the end of the day, when I listen to it and when I see the talk, that shit don’t sit right with me with my spirit. That shit disrupts my fucking peace. So what I want to say right here tonight, is that in the midst of me doing that – trying to find a little angle and downplay this nigga’s catalog and greatness – how many people here think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherfuckers to ever touch the fucking microphone? […] I ain’t gonna lie to y'all, [the] past two days felt terrible, like, it let me know how good I been sleeping these past ten years […] We taking that song off of fucking streaming services, nigga.

The song was promptly removed from streaming services on April 12, 2024.