For over a decade, countless fans have lauded Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole as hip-hop’s definitive “Big Three.” It even came to a point where they were christened in 2015 as “The Heart, The Mind, and The Soul” of rap music. You might not indulge in that kind of artist idolatry, but it became a constant talking point. Some people have questioned its validity and have offered their own substitutes, such as Future or Young Thug.
However, the moment that soiled J. Cole in the eyes of so many fans is when he bowed out of the feud between Drake and Kendrick. The latter goaded him on after he collaborated with the former on “First Person Shooter”, embracing the “Big Three” narrative.
However, a lukewarm diss song and an apology letter later, J. Cole promptly decided against any more antagonism. While some felt he made a sound creative and business decision, there were plenty of onlookers that were personally disgusted by his choice.
One of those people is Bronx legend Fat Joe, who argued on a January 2026 episode of Joe and Jada with Jadakiss that Cole shouldn’t qualify for that kind of love after what he pulled.
Fat Joe Thinks J. Cole Shouldn’t Count in the “big Three” Rappers Anymore
“Do we look at him the same, being that they screwed his head off the big three?” Joe asks as Jada insists Cole is back “in a major way.” Ultimately, the “Make It Rain” rapper insisted that you can’t back down from a match, regardless of whether it seems like you’ll win or not. You have to stand by what hip-hop stands for. Joe then makes an apt comparison to 50 Cent, who remained firm amidst all of his beefs and still did numbers. He wants J. Cole to do the same.
“I’m talking about hip-hop, right? So, what I’m saying to you is, you guys were f***ing miniature compared to [50 Cent]. 50 Cent just sold 30 million records. You went atom, you went to the yard with the swarm,” Joe says.
Jadakiss retorted that no artists could realistically sell $100 million worth of records regardless of status. Fat Joe does cop to that as a reasonable response. But in the end, “He didn’t come outside, Jada,” he shrugs of J. Cole. Now, with less than a month to go for what could be his final album, we’ll see if The Fall-Off has any disses hidden on there.
The post Fate Joe Argues J. Cole Lost His Spot in Rap’s ‘Big Three’ After This Critical Move in Kendrick-Drake Beef appeared first on VICE.
