With the arrival of two new songs from J. Cole, fans have started to unpack the lyrics and think he's addressing Lil Pump on "Lion King on Ice." Released alongside the "The Climb Back," both tracks are taken from his next record, The Fall Off. Observers of Cole's tendency to address rappers in songs have circled around a few particular lines on "Lion King on Ice," believing he's speaking directly to the "Gucci Gang" artist.
"N***a dissed me/It was nonsense/I sat 'em down like his father/My n***a asked, 'Why you bother?'/We should've caught him and mobbed him/I said, 'We gotta move smarter,'" Cole raps. "Don't wanna be the reason for one more sad song/I tried to warn n***as they wouldn't last long/I hope that you see how they came and they want/They shots never hit but they made their attempts/May have a good year like their name on a blimp/But you know what it take to be poppin' this long."
The two previously had a relatively one-sided back-and-forth in 2018 that led to Pump taking issue with the North Carolina native. They eventually sat down for an interview on camera, effectively ending the beef. At the time of the interview, Cole effectively warned Pump to watch out for the perils of falling off or becoming a one hit wonder. Fans believe "Lion King on Ice" is Cole telling Pump he didn't heed that warning.