J. Cole finally opened up about why he chose to remove himself from the potential rap battle with Kendrick Lamar in his new track "Port Antonio."

On Wednesday (Oct. 9), the Fayetteville rapper surprised fans by dropping the song exclusively on YouTube. He takes a more mellow approach as he touches on his decision to step away from the rumored rivalry back in April after initially responding to Lamar’s "Like That" verse on "7 Minute Drill." He also delves into the tension between Lamar and Drake, giving listeners a glimpse into the dynamics of their infamous beef.

"Protectin' legacies, so lines got crossed, perhaps regrettably/My friends went to war, I walked away with all they blood on me," he raps. "Now some will discredit me, tryna wipe away my pedigree/But please, find a n**ga out that's rappin' this incredibly."

"I pulled the plug because I seen where that was ’bout to go/They wanted blood, they wanted clicks to make they pockets grow," Cole continues.

"They see this fire in my pen they think I'm dodging smoke/I wouldn't have lost a battle, dawg, I would have lost a bro/And all for what?/Just to obtain some ol' props from strangers that don't got a clue what I been aiming fo' since the age of 14/Jermaine is no king if that means I got to dig up dirt and pay a whole team of algorithm bot n**gas just to sway the whole thing on social media/Competing for your favorable memes."

"I pulled the plug because I seen where that was ’bout to go/They wanted blood, they wanted clicks to make they pockets grow," Cole continues. "They see this fire in my pen they think I'm dodging smoke/I wouldn't have lost a battle, dawg, I would have lost a bro/And all for what?/Just to obtain some ol' props from strangers that don't got a clue what I been aiming fo' since the age of 14/Jermaine is no king if that means I got to dig up dirt and pay a whole team of algorithm bot n**gas just to sway the whole thing on social media/Competing for your favorable memes."

The 39-year-old also addressed Drake directly. "Hey Drake, you'll always be my ni**a/I ain't ashamed to say you did a lot fo' me, my ni**a/F**k all the narratives/Tapping back into your magic pen is what's imperative," he raps.