Lil Pump has responded to being asked whether or not he thinks J. Cole predicted his falloff back in 2018.
During an interview on The Bootleg Kev Podcast that aired on Thursday (Oct. 27), Lil Pump was asked if he feels as though J. Cole was accurate on his 2018 song “1985,” when he implied the then-current generation of rappers, such as Pump, would not stand the test of time in the music industry. In his own roundabout way, Bootleg Kev basically asked Lil Pump if he believes that the Miami rapper’s own career has reached its peak and is currently on the decline.
“Nope,” Lil Pump swiftly replied in the video clip below. “’Cause I’m still here. I own two houses…”
Kev then clarified his question by explaining that while he understands that the “Gucci Gang” spitter is still wealthy and has had a successful run in the rap game, he still wonders if Lil Pump‘s specific era of hip-hop was a bit of a flash in the pan. He then asked once again if J. Cole was correct in his 2018 prediction.
“I don’t think he predicted shit,” said Pump. “I’m still here.”
Things then got awkward when Kev revised the question and Pump seemed to not know how to respond.
Bootleg Kev’s inquisition stems directly from the many rumors that circulated regarding beef between Lil Pump and J. Cole back when Cole dropped “1985” on his 2018 album, KOD. At the time, many people across the hip-hop community believed that certain rhymes the North Carolina MC included on the song were aimed at both Lil Pump and his contemporaries.
On “1985,” Cole raps: “If it’s really true what people saying/And you call yourself playin’ with my name/Then I really know you fucked, trust/I’ll be around forever ’cause my skills is tip-top/To any amateur niggas that wanna get rocked/Just remember what I told you when your shit flop/In five years you gon’ be on Love & Hip Hop, nigga.”
Regardless of whether or not J. Cole was specifically targeting Lil Pump on “1985,” Pump reacted to Cole’s apparent prediction of his generation’s impending downfall by taking direct shots at the “No Role Modelz” rapper on social media. Lil Pump, who was only 17 years old at the time, lashed out at J. Cole by implying that he was perhaps jealous of the attention Pump had been receiving.
“Wow you get so much props—you dissed a 17-year-old,” said Lil Pump in an Instagram video back in 2018. “Lame ass jit.”
Although Lil Pump clearly felt as though Cole’s rhymes on “1985” were out of pocket, the beef between the two rappers was squashed in short order when the two talked it out via phone call in May of 2018.
