Drake and J. Cole are as thick as thieves. If their back-to-back collaborations and upcoming joint tour weren't proof enough, Drake also gave Cole a sentimental birthday shout-out on Sunday.
“More life my brother,” The Boy wrote in his Instagram Stories over a black and white image of Cole. “Thank you for the years of inspiration.”
Instagram: @champagnepapi
2023 was a brotherly year for Drake and the Dreamville Records co-founder, as both headlined the third installment of Dreamville Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina. Cole returned the favor last July when he made a surprise pop-up during the Montreal stop of the It's All A Blur Tour.
THEY ACT LIKE TWO LEGENDS CANNOT COEXIST #DreamvilleFest
(📸 @frankievergara_) pic.twitter.com/h9BZ3J2MOY
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) April 3, 2023
Drake brought out J. Cole during his show tonight in Montreal 🫡pic.twitter.com/u7L3HRUSTC
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) July 15, 2023
Drake and Cole also teamed up on “Evil Ways” and “First Person Shooter” from For All the Dogs, with the latter single marking Cole's first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Although “First Person Shooter” marked Drake tying with Michael Jackson for most chart-toppers by a male artist, Cole explained on Lil Yachty's A Safe Place podcast that the No. 1 was virtually given to him because the song included Drake. The collaboration was also in competition with the Yeat-assisted For All the Dogs track, “IDGAF.”
“I’d almost feel better not having my first No. 1 be off a Drake alley-oop, you know what I mean? Like, I love Drake and I love that I’m a part of that moment with him with Michael Jackson,” Cole said on the podcast. “But it’s like, bruh, I’m grateful I’m a part of it. But if the other song would have went No. 1, n****, I’m still grateful I’m a part of it. I wasn’t at home like, ‘Come on, y’all! Pick up the streams, man! We gotta beat this motherfucker Yeat! Come on now!' I wasn’t doing that.”
The It's All a Blur Tour, Big as the What? will kick off on Feb. 2 in Tampa, Florida.
This article was originally published on Complex.com.
