Wale Responds To J. Cole’s “False Prophets” With “Groundhog Day”
Later on, the friends and collaborators were seen attending the North Carolina State basketball game together.
Earlier this week, J. Cole surprise released a new short documentary called Eyez, which serves as a visual primer for his upcoming album 4 Your Eyez Only that will drop on Friday, December 9. Shortly after, Cole also released videos for the two tracks "Everybody Dies" and "False Prophets," which appear in snippets throughout the visual. Since Cole released the clips on YouTube yesterday, they have been taken down.
J. Cole's lyrics in "False Prophets" got the Internet buzzing, as some fans interpreted them as Cole taking shots at Kanye West, Drake, and Lil Yachty. Some fans believed the second verse to be about Wale, as Cole recounts a story of a rapper who experiences anxiety thinking about the opinions of the critics and his fans:
And I know he so bitter he can’t see his own blessings
Goddamn, nigga, you too blind to see you got fans, nigga
And a platform to make a classic rap song
To change a nigga life, but you too anxious living’ life
Always worried ‘bout the critics who ain’t ever fuckin’ did it
I write what’s in my heart, don’t give a fuck who fuckin’ with it
But in a sense I can relate, the need to be great
Turns into an obsession keeps a nigga up late.
Immediately, it seemed like Wale had a response for his old collaborator. The D.C. rapper released a freestyle of his own, entitled "Groundhog Day." Throughout the track, Wale reminisces on coming up with J. Cole and starts to confess his own mental health issues. I’m heavily flawed, but far from a false prophet/ I remember me and Cole would open for Hov/ Everyday a star is born I guess I died in the womb, Wale raps.
He continues: Labeled as reckless and crazy by my record label/ The doctor say it’s bipolar disorder/He diagnosing me wrong/ It’s obviously depressing counting blue faces/ Here go that real shit/ Battled anxiety and privately them Percocets. Listen below.
At the end of the track, Wale says, "See you at the game." Later that night, Wale and J. Cole were spotted attending the North Carolina State basketball together. It seems that the two collaborators are still friendly and mean no ill will towards each other.