J. Cole finally apologized to NBA legend Shane Battier in person for a lyric from his 2011 debut album ‘Cole World: The Sideline Story’
J. Cole finally had the chance of finally apologize to the NBA legend Shane Battier face to face because of a lyric he had in his 2011 debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story. The line from the track “Rise & Shine” said: “We in two different games, you playin’ patty cake/Brother you’re lame, you’re Shane Battier.”
Battier said on a recent interview that he bumped into Cole at a restaurant in Miami over the summer. The line was never really a bother to him; that is part of the reason he thanked Cole for acknowledging it. “I caught a stray,” he said. “I figured he’s a Carolina fan, and we used to beat Carolina all the time, so I thought he might just be mad. But you know what? I probably am lame, so I owned it.”
That was the moment Battier remembered: “The maitre d’ came up to me and said, ‘There’s a guy who wants to apologize to you-his name’s J. Cole.’ At first, I thought this was a prank, but sure enough, I walked over, and there he was, much bigger than I imagined. He said, ‘Man, I’m sorry. I was young, and I’ve been hoping to have this moment to apologize.’ I told him, ‘No worries, I get it.’ I appreciated his humility, though I thought it was funny.”