Charlamagne Tha God says hip-hop's "Big 3" conversation is officially done, and he's making it clear he doesn't believe J. Cole ever truly got "pushed out" of the trio, but his decision to bow out of the Kendrick Lamar battle changed everything.
On the latest episode of The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne addressed the renewed debate around rap's supposed "Big 3" consisting of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole, and argued that the moment where all three were expected to clash has already passed.
"Nobody ever screwed J. Cole's head off the 'Big 3,'" Charlamagne said. "Reality is there is no 'Big 3'no more because when the 'Big 3' was supposed to engage, only 2 of them decided to engage."
Charlamagne's comments follow recent chatter sparked by Fat Joe, who questioned Cole's standing in the top tier while discussing his upcoming album The Fall Off on the Joe and Jada podcast.
During that episode, Joe challenged whether Cole still belongs in the Big 3 after apologizing for and pulling his Kendrick diss "7 Minute Drill," asking: "Do we look at him the same, being that they screwed his head off the big three?"
On The Breakfast Club, Charlamagne used that same idea, Cole getting his "head screwed off" from the Big 3, as a jumping-off point, but insisted he doesn't see it that way. Instead, he argued Cole's reputation was impacted because the long-hyped Big 3 showdown never fully happened.
"J. Cole engaged, and then he backed away. And so it was two," Charlamagne continued. "And then after the two, one reigns supreme, and we know who that was, Mr. Kendrick Lamar."
DJ Envy largely agreed with the framing, saying Cole opting out of the battle doesn't erase his pen or catalog, but it did remove him from the "who's number one" argument at that moment.
"You were an MC. You're supposed to be ready for any type of smoke," Envy said. "That doesn't take away his pen… But when it came to that battle… he bowed out."
Charlamagne also predicted Cole's next move will still connect with fans, but not in a way that resets the hierarchy.
"And when he drops The Fall Off, it's probably going to be dope," Charlamagne said. "J. Cole can rap his ass off… But when it comes to being number one, no, that's not going to happen."
Lauren LoRosa pushed back, pointing out that public perception has clearly shifted.
"People [are] not acting like J. Cole is a part of that 'Big 3' because of him bowing out of that battle," she said. "That is actually happening."
Envy argued: "No, he's still part of the big three. No, he's just not number one."
But Charlamagne doubled down, echoing Kendrick's viral framing of the entire moment.
"I don't think there's no 'Big 3' no more period," he said. "As Kendrick said, 'There's no big three. It's just big me.'"
He added that if the argument is purely about the last 15 years of dominance, then yes those are still the three names. But he says there's now a clear pecking order, with Kendrick sitting at the top.
"There's a clear number one… Kendrick Lamar… Drake at two… and then Cole at number three."