Punch Henderson Denies Rumors That Ab-Soul Dissed J. Cole On New Song

Terrence “Punch” Henderson” has spoken out regarding speculation that Ab-Soul dissed J. Cole on his new song, “Squeeze 1st 2.”

Released on Friday (Oct. 11), “Squeeze 1st 2″ includes lyrics that some listeners perceive to be aimed at J. Cole, who bowed out of the rap war between Drake and Ab-Soul’s former labelmate, Kendrick Lamar earlier this year.

On the song’s opening verse, Ab-Soul raps, “Metasota warned me they wanna war/ But actually they forfeiting,” an alleged reference to Cole’s lyrical retreat after responding to Lamar’s verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s hit single, “Like That,” on his Might Delete Later project.

On Monday (Oct. 14), a social media user accused Ab-Soul of dissing J. Cole on “Squeeze 1st 2” in retaliation for Cole including him on the song, “Pi”, in which he allegedly dissed Kendrick as well.

“Ab-Soul threw jabs at J. Cole after Cole did him dirty by adding him & Daylyt to a song with a verse dissing Kendrick on ‘Pi’ – this is a question for rap fans. Cole dropped out with Kendrick but he still claims his pen is unmatched. Does he have to engage w Soul to prove it?”

However, Punch responded to the social media post with one of his own, in which he refuted the notion that Ab-Soul slighted Cole on “Squeeze 1st 2.”

“I hate to clear up rumors, I usually let them fester and see how far they go, but ALL verses on ‘Pi’ were recorded long before Like That,” Henderson, Top Dawg Entertainment’s President, revealed. He also explained that rappers claiming to be lyrically superior to their peers aren’t necessarily dissing anyone in particular, but are rhyming in generalizations.

“When an emcee is in his or her ‘I’m the best’ bag, they’re usually dissing everyone and no one at the same time,” Punch wrote in a subsequent tweet. “It’s a part of the motif for most emcees. The lines are usually open ended and can apply to any other rapper. Unless it’s a specific reference.”

“Squeeze 1st 2” was released on the same day as J. Cole’s own new song, “Port Antonio.” The track, which finds him addressing his reasoning for not engaging in the beef between Drake and J. Cole and the fallout behind it, has received mixed reviews, with some fans and pundits praising his candidness. Others have decried it not being in the competitive spirit of Hip-Hop.