J. Cole and Lil Yachty have some history. Back in the day, before he was even famous, Yachty took some shots at Cole on social media. A few years later, when Lil Boat blew up, the Atlanta newcomer’s sing-songy “mumble rap” style seemed diametrically opposed to Cole’s hyper-lyrical rhyming, and that became a source of friction across the industry as old heads and young bucks battled for the soul of the genre. Cole may have also dissed Yachty on 2016’s “Everybody Dies.”
But artists evolve and time heals all wounds, and now Cole and Yachty have joined forces for “The Secret Recipe,” their first-ever collaboration and the title track of a new rap-centric five-song Yachty EP. Boasting soulful, old-school-style production from Yachty himself, “The Secret Recipe” debuted inside the Top 10 of the Genius Top Songs chart.
“The Secret Recipe” is about demanding respect and clapping back at foes, and Yachty opens the first verse by evoking a civil rights icon who’s often held up in opposition to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his commitment to nonviolent conflict resolution.
Allegedly, they figured out that I’m the secret recipe
The baddest hoes gon’ test the E, then blame the high for wanting sex
I never wanted peace, fuck all the opps, I support Malcolm X
A few lines later, Yachty complains about how he was treated by the hip-hop establishment in the early days of his career.
The standards have collapsed, they wrote me in with lames
They treat me like I’m them, they hate, I overcome
Refuse to pat my back, refuse to shake my hand
Refuse to give me props when I am not around
Refuse to act like I ain’t shift the sound, like I ain’t push the culture
Cole opens his verse by aligning himself with Yachty and praising him for the impact he’s had on the game.
Cole and Yachty, comin’ for they respect, come and pay your debt
Just like a travel pillow, we at your neck for the way you slept
This nuance but I see hella influence in the way you dress
The way you sound, the way you try to move
Cole would also like to remind us that he himself is still a vital artist with important things to say.
Y’all chasing relevance, it’s evidenced by the way you step
As for me, I cook so masterfully, ain’t gotta pay a chef
I’m older now, but still, I’m cuttin’ edge, I’m like a bayonet
Later, Cole takes aim at self-righteous types who engage in performative wokeness. He also questions the motives of activists who may be raising money for their own selfish ends.
I hate the press, refusing interviews whenever they request
Niggas fake-progressive and woke, I started saying less
I had to stop it, peeped how they profit off of racial stress
Some activists got so rich, they prolly wish we stay oppressed
Toward the end of the song, Cole insists that he’s better than your favorite rapper while alluding to Cam’Ron and Ma$e’s sports podcast It Is What It Is, which features frequent use of the word “pause.” Cole also has some choice words for unworthy women trying to get with him.
My table set, I dine on your favorite, one verse’ll take his breath
I prolly put more niggas on pause than Cam and Mason Beth
My agent get a whole lotta calls, it’s like he paid the ref
These bitches out here lookin’ like Steph on the late contest
Wide open, shootin’ they shot, don’t even waste your breath
I been stop fuckin’ you thots, ain’t got no patience left
“The Secret Recipe” landed alongside a music video that features both rappers doing their thing in an empty arena.
You can read all the lyrics to “Secret Recipe” on Genius now.
