Wale Says Quarrel With J. Cole Brought Them Closer Together

Ahead of the release of his fifth album Shine, Wale held a live annotation and listening event at Genius HQ. During the event, Wale discussed the creative process behind the album and opened up about his relationship with J. Cole. Last year, Cole and Wale exchanged words in “False Prophets” and “Groundhog Day,” respectively. Speaking to the Genius audience Wednesday night, Wale confirmed that any supposed animosity between the two was now settled.

“The funny thing about that whole thing is that shit brought me and J. Cole way closer,” Wale explained. On a song that didn’t end up making the final cut for Shine, Wale addressed the situation. “I said, ‘I called my therapist, then called Cole, guess who handled it better? / You guessed it, you guessed it / My label want a verse, but I’m just thankful for friendship,'” he recalled. “And that’s, like, where I’m at right now with me and him.”

Wale added that he and Cole are just in “different places” in their lives at the moment. “And right now, with this album, trying to bring everybody together and trying to . . . bring my ideas to life, and the ideas that I probably wouldn’t normally put on the album, I put on the album because I wanted to this time,” Wale said of how he’s feeling ahead of the Shine era of his career. “I really feel like it’s just about letting go.”

Revisit Wale’s full Genius talk below:

Though Shine was originally slated for a May 5 release, Wale has moved it up to this Friday. The 14-track album features appearances from Lil Wayne, Major Lazer, Wizkid, Dua Lipa, G-Eazy, J Balvin, Travis Scott, and more. Stream “Shine Season,” which references infamous conservative Toyota Lasagna, below:

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