What happened between J. Cole and Diddy at the 2013 VMAs? TDE's Punch recalls alleged scuffle over Kendrick Lamar's 'Control'

On a recent appearance on the R&B Money Podcast, TDE's Punch reflected on the infamous 2013 alleged fight between Diddy and J. Cole during the VMAs after party. During the podcast’s I Ain’t Saying No Names segment, Punch was asked to narrate an incident that he felt was “funny.” Hence, while giving no names, TDE’s Punch recalled:

“The homie just did this song, right? Pissed a gang of people off. Everybody was mad at it. When the song came out, he was overseas, then he came back to the States. The first place we stopped in was New York City and the first thing we do is say, ‘Let's go to the club’ because we want to check the temperature, see what everybody was on—L.A. stuff.”

While Punch did not name Diddy, J. Cole or even Kendrick Lamar, Hot New Hip Hop reported that Punch allegedly implied that Diddy confronted Kendrick and expressed his disappointment with the verse of his song, Control. He reportedly stated that J. Cole jumped into their conversation to defend the rapper, which reportedly led to a scuffle between the two.

In the podcast, Punch alleged that the VIP section of the party was like “the front row of the Grammys,” as there were a lot of A-listers present. He mentioned that the argument reportedly escalated to threats, with one rapper allegedly saying they would slit the other's throat with a bottle.

Furthermore, he stated that one of the rappers punched another, which resulted in a physical fight between the two. Hot New Hip Hop stated that it was Diddy who was rumored to have said the bottle threat and J. Cole was the one to start the physical spat.

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J. Cole rapped about his scuffle with Diddy at the 2013 VMAs in his 2021 track Let Go My Hand

While J. Cole and Diddy reportedly have had altercations over the years, their most famous one is still the 2013 VMAs spat, when the two allegedly exchanged blows. Eight years later, Cole released the song, Let Go My Hand in 2021, where he addressed the fight, as he rapped:

"I kept a tough demeanour on the surface but was mostly just pretendin’. Luckily my bluff was workin’ way more often than not. But sometimes a n***a pulled my card, tryna expose me for fraud. And with my reputation at stake. I was scufflin’ just to save face. Couple wins, couple losses, some broken up too quick to call it.”

In May 2024, both Cole and Diddy denied feuding with each other. J. Cole took to X and wrote:

“People will believe anything.”

Similarly, Diddy hopped on to X and wrote:

"I usually don’t address rumours but I got too much respect for my bro @JColeNC. We are friends. The rumours are not true. We had a great party."

Furthermore, in 2021, the duo collaborated and posted a video on Instagram where they reenacted their rumored 2013 scuffle at the VMAs.