J. Cole made his first public appearance at Bas' latest show in New York City following his apology to Kendrick Lamar at the 2024 Dreamville Festival.
On Tuesday night, the Dreamville leader popped up at the closing show of Bas's tour that took place in Irving Plaza in NYC. In video footage shared online, Bas had a fan join him on stage to perform Cole's verse off their 2013 track titled "Lit."
As the fan ran through the verse, Cole showed up out of nowhere, which caused the audience to cheer loudly. The North Carolina native then applauded the fan for rapping his verse before grabbing the mic to perform "H.Y.B." off his latest mixtape, Might Delete Later.
Cole's appearance came as a surprise as Bas revealed he had no idea he was going to show up. Fans were also shocked to see Cole, given all the chatter surrounding the apology he gave Kendrick Lamar at the 2024 Dreamville Festival last weekend.
Last Sunday, Cole had hip-hop fans talking after he took time out of his set to apologize to K. Dot. According to Cole, it didn't sit right with his spirit taking shots at his friend on "7 Minute Drill," and he hoped that Lamar wouldn't take his diss to heart while praying God put him on the right path.
"I was conflicted because: one, I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers. These two n***as that I just been blessed to even stand beside in this game, let alone chase they greatness," he said. "So I felt conflicted 'cause I'm like, bruh, I don't even feel no way. But the world wanna see blood. I don't know if y'all can feel that, but the world wanna see blood."
He continued, "That shit disrupts my fucking peace. So what I want to say right here tonight is in the midst of me doing that, trying to find a little angle and downplay this n***a's fucking catalog and his greatness, I want to say right now tonight, how many people think Kendrick Lamar is one of the greatest motherfuckers to ever touch a fucking microphone? Dreamville, y'all love Kendrick Lamar, correct? As do I."
People on social media were quick to criticize Cole for apologizing, but his Dreamville crew stuck by him, including Bas, who tweeted that the "pool was closed" in reference to shutting off people trying to join or work with the crew.
