J. Cole had a line on “The Fall-Off” raised eyebrows and in turn started a rumor that J. Cole was/still is at odds with Jay-Z.

J. Cole is finally answering a question that has been on the minds of fans for about a month: Did he diss Jay-Z? This inquiry was brought up thanks to the release of the rapper’s lead single for The Fall-Off, “The Fall-Off Is Inevitable.”

Listeners keyed in on one line in particular towards the end of the conceptual track. “One of the so-called kings of this rap thing that I swear to usurp.” Prior to that line he references being “signed to my hero,” Jay-Z.

People seemed to pinpoint the word “so-called,” and theorize that J. Cole didn’t really respect Hov. Also, with the song paying homage to Nas’ “Rewind” and him being a huge fan of Jay-Z’s biggest enemy added some extra layers to this belief.

However, while that line on its own does provide some credence to this argument, the line before it kind of nullifies things.

That’s why J. Cole informed the 7PM In Brooklyn podcast, per Gothamhiphop, that it “absolutely wasn’t” a dig at the New York icon.

He reiterates that he’s also an “unabashed Jay-Z fan” and viewed him as a god of rap as well. But after hearing the chatter online about how they viewed the line, Cole admits he could see the vision. However, as he explains further in the clip, he was rapping from the perspective a young and hungry teenager.

Are Jay-Z And J. Cole Still Friends?

That makes sense as the song does narrate his life backwards. All in all, this can finally be put to bed.

In fact, J. Cole expressed that he’s upset his missing out on the Yankee Stadium concerts Jay-Z is putting on. They just so happen to fall on the days that he’s opening his world tour for The Fall-Off. But he says he does plan on attending his performance at the upcoming Roots Picnic.

Overall, it sounds like these two gentlemen are still friends, even if Cole and Hov both haven’t spoken to each other in a while. During the latter’s big interview with GQ and Frazier Tharpe, he revealed that him and his former signee are on good terms.

“I don’t have any negative feelings for him. I’m actually super proud of him and what he’s done.”