There’s much to dissect about “The Secret Recipe,” Lil Yachty and J. Cole’s new song together, including a number of headlineable bars from both artists. But a few choice lines that some had theorized were intended as a nod to YoungBoy Never Broke Again are no such thing, per Cole's manager.
One such moment occurs deep into track's second verse, Cole recalls a FaceTime conversation during which another artist "saw the face of death" after asking him for a feature:
"N***as makin' threats and I laugh, that's 'cause you ain't a threat
Don't ask how I feel 'bout no rappers, shit, they okay, I guess
Incomin' call, press the button, the one that say accept
He FaceTime to ask for a feature and saw the face of death"
Some listeners were quick to connect this to YoungBoy. As previously reported, Cole was among the artists called out in YoungBoy's Richest Opp track "Fuck the Industry Pt. 2." According to Cole’s manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad, however, such interpretations are way off.
"I’m pretty sure this is [cap]," he said in a tweet shared Friday. "Not sure how y’all heard that cole verse and put that together, impressive."
In the aforementioned "Fuck the Industry Pt. 2," YoungBoy called Cole "a ho" and claimed that he had "played it cold like he was gon' do a feature." This is a possible reference to a would-be studio session involving both artists in 2021. As reported at the time, Cole was apparently left waiting at the studio for hours, with YoungBoy ultimately not showing up for the session.
"J a ho, that n***a played it cold like he was gon' do a feature
So I texted his line a muscle sign, I swear it's gon' be nice to meet you"
The same song also saw YoungBoy naming Drake and Lil Yachty, with the former being described as his “enemy” in connection with his Lil Durk beef.
