On J. Cole’s The Fall Off album, it’s clear that Cole isn’t going to take any slurs just because he stepped away from the Kendrick-Drake feud. Some even thought he shot rapper Simba, who shot J. Cole as he backed away.
Cole raps on “26th Birthday Blizzard,” seemingly addressing the footage of Simba, saying, “You’re all kids to me, stop bothering me/Young Simba, some niggas got hate on me/But the only thing they should say is, ‘Cole, you’re like a dad to me.” Now, many think Cole was just talking about his beginnings as rapper Young Simba, but that wasn’t really a pun.
This is awesome..must share❗️
Symba – father figure
My bad Sym🤷🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/bbTy87JMs5— DJHed (@DJHed) February 5, 2026
In response to this question, Simba spoke to Jeremy Hecht and revealed that he speaks out about his feelings and that in the West, people joke a little aggressively. That’s it. He also mentioned that he may have overstepped his boundaries, but he respects Cole for fighting back. Still, he made sure to convey that he would have a reply of his own, which now comes to a rhythm directed by Drake.
As expected, the song is called “Father Figure” and is a conceptual rap work full of expectations and subversion. At first, the listener feels as if Symba is talking about his real father and his many vices, who is said to have had children on every street – only to realize that Symba is talking about hip-hop music, the father of all rappers.
He devoted several choice columns to discussing the Cole-Kendrick-Drake dynamic and claimed he didn’t understand that “stepping back” could mean “standing up” — discussing self and integrity with nuance and empathy. At the same time, he wonders what the point of “Prep” (J. Cole’s claim to be the best and his classic career) would be if he eventually quits.
Interestingly, the rap is based on Drake and Conductor’s “Stories About My Brother”, and the use of Drake’s instrumentation may also hint at Symba’s message. What do you think?
