Why did Canibus diss J Cole?
J Cole, right from the beginning of his rap career, just rubbed certain people up the wrong way. In 2011, the same year he released his debut album, he inadvertently managed to attract a wild diss from none other than Canibus.
Canibus released a song called ‘J Clone,’ which took aim at Cole and tried to put the young rapper back in his place. But what, exactly, had he done to annoy Canibus so much? The veteran rapper, helpfully, posted a long statement online that explained his beef.
Basically, Canibus was annoyed — furious, even — because Cole had a habit of saying that he really liked and respected him. Cole had insisted that Canibus was one of his favourite artists, which sent the older rapper into a tailspin.
If this seems strange to read, it’s because it was. Canibus raged in his statement about the fact that Cole frequently shouted him out in interviews, while he was especially upset about the fact that Cole played some of Canibus’ older songs before his own gigs, to help warm up the crowd.
This, he felt, was Cole utilising Canibus’ material as a way of giving off “the impression that he is real hip-hop and loves real lyricism.” Canibus believed this to be a cynical ploy, on Cole’s part.
Not only that, but he felt that Cole, by playing the older material, was overlooking Canibus’ new music, which was unforgivable. This, Canibus believed, meant Cole was treating him, not as a relevant, present-day artist still inspiring the youth, but as “an artist that has physically passed on already,” like Tupac Shakur, the Notorious B.I.G., or Big L.
“I can’t help but to think that he is not nearly as sincere or genuine as he would like real hip-hop heads to think he is,” Canibus wrote, “because he speaks about me like I am dead.”
Concluding that Cole’s actions were “underhanded and disingenuous,” he said he didn’t agree with “his tactic” and announced that he had “something to say about it.” His diss song duly expressed his grievances.
As if Canibus’ reaction to Cole’s praise wasn’t strange and hasty enough, he almost immediately backtracked on his own diss. Two days after releasing ‘J Clone,’ he issued an apology video to Cole in which he took “full responsibility” for “steppin’ over the line.” The whole episode was, frankly, bizarre.