Kendrick Lamar’s “Prophetic” April 7 Bar From “The Heart Part IV” Resurfaces Amid J. Cole Battle

Marc Griffin
·4 min read
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What did Nas say? “It was written.”

Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part IV” has been deemed “prophetic” amid his battle with J. Cole. As Cole “Let Nas Down” yet again by apologizing for his diss song, fans began running for answers. Some fans found themselves screaming in a hotel room, while other Hip-Hop purists found solace in K. Dot’s 2017 loosey. However, they were shocked to see how the track perfectly foreshadowed Cole apologizing on April 7—a date referenced in the song. “You know what time it is, ante up, this is in forever/Y’all got ’til April the 7th to get y’all sh*t together,” he concludes the track.

This revelation quickly sent social media into a tailspin. It also garnered some pretty hilarious reactions. “‘The Heart Part IV’ hits so different now considering that literally everything Kendrick was talking about came true,” one account typed. “This song hit so much harder now. Kendrick might be a prophet. He said they had until April 7th to get they sh*t together and J. Cole apologizes on April 7th. He mentioned prophesies on this song too. Wild,” another exclaimed. “‘The Heart Part IV’ literally predicted Cole’s apology lmaooooo.”

For context, Lamar dropped “The Heart Part IV” as a part of his “The Heart” series in 2017. The song served as an appetizer to hold fans over as he geared up for the release of his critically acclaimed album, DAMN. April 7, as mentioned in the song, was the date that TDE put his album up for pre-order. It was also rumored that he would drop a companion piece to the LP entitled NATION as in DAMNATION. But, spoiler alert, it didn’t happen.

Cole released “7-Minute Drill” on new project Might Delete Later on Friday (April 5) as a response to Dot’s “Like That” verse. Two days later, Cole issued a public apology at his annual Dreamville Festival. “I damn near had a relapse,” he said during his apology. “Y’all heard that bazooka that was dropped on the game, right?”

“For the first time, I was tested. I got the world, and I got my n**gas saying, ‘What you gon’ do Cole?’…I was conflicted because: one, I know my heart and I know how I feel about my peers. These two ni**as that I just been blessed to even stand beside in this game, let alone chase they greatness.”

It should also be noted that “The Heart Part IV” wasn’t originally aimed at Cole. The track was actually a dig at Big Sean and Drake. K. Dot referenced Drizzy’s ghostwriting debacle with the line, “Don’t tell a lie on me/ I won’t tell the truth ’bout you.” He added insult to injury later in the song, further questioning his skill as an emcee. Kendrick can be heard attempting to get his bars right as he crumples paper and restarts. This tone painting illustrates how different Dot feels he is from Drake: he goes to the pen for his lyrics while Drizzy allegedly looks on Indeed.com for his.

“Look at the crowd, they— (Naw, I don’t like that)/Look at my smile, I’m smirkin’/Calm but urgent (That ain’t the style, f**k!)/So many verses, you live in denial (F**k!)/So many verses, I never run out (What?)/’You makin’ him nervous, the music is loud.'”

Lamar also took shots at Sean, calling him out for being scared to address him on wax. “My fans can’t wait for me to son ya punk a** and crush your whole lil sh*t/I’ll Big Pun ya punk a**, you a scared little bi**h/Tiptoein’ around my name, ni**a, ya lame/And when I get at you, homie, don’t you just tell me you was just playin.'”

Ironically, these bars can also be attributed to how his battle with Cole recently ended. “Prophetic.”

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