Back in 2013, you might recall,
J. Cole told MTV News that they “already got too many songs” and that at least a joint EP was “coming.” K. Dizzle was
just as optimistic. While we never received that offering, we did get another update last year when Kendrick said he “
still would love to do” the project.
Then, Cole and Dot unleashed “Black Friday” freestyles on Thanksgiving, in which each MC recreated a cut by the other. That fueled excitement for the project and talks that it’d drop in 2016, so MTV News asked Free about the likelihood of the joint album dropping this year.
“Anything’s a possibility,” he said. “Everything’s a possibility, but I’ma say this, too: Kendrick and Cole are in a place in their careers and in their lives where they have to keep going. Of course they’re two of the biggest rappers out, but they still have to keep grinding. There’s so much work that they have to continue to do.
“A joint album does sound great, but people need to understand, these are two geniuses,” he continued. “These are two creative guys. It takes a long time for one of them to get in a space to create a song, so to get two of them in a space to do that, it takes a lot of time and energy. It all has to be a singular project, but it just can’t happen overnight.”
Fans have been pleading about this collab for years. Free’s heard the constant talk surrounding the potential album, but he says timing is a crucial element here.
“Sometimes, fans feel like people can create songs so quickly,” he said. “Yeah, some people can, but you have to do it when it’s right, when the timing is right. Sometimes, that’s not when the fans want it; it’s when the fans need it. So, if the fans need it, it’ll happen. But right now, the only thing I can speak for is TDE and what we’ve got.”
Clearly, what they’ve got is a line-up of projects ready to be unleashed. While SZA, Soul, Isaiah and Q gear up drop their new material, one has to wonder if Kendrick’s also plotting a follow-up to
TPAB. And yes, he is, though it’s unclear when that will drop.
“It’s hard to say right now,” Free explained. “Kendrick’s always working. He’s never not working. He’s always thinking of the next idea, writing down ideas or mumbling sh-t to himself…It’s too early to say right now, but just know that Kendrick is always working.”
That’s the same type of attitude that Top Dawg Entertainment is taking into 2016. It’s the same message the label conveyed late last year with a video that celebrated K. Dot’s 11 Grammy nominations.
It was titled “Hard Work.” It’s because the label’s focused on more than just one year or one artist or one album, according to Free. They’ve got much more in their sights.
“That’s what excites me,” Free said. “We had a great year. We did some great things. But guess what? We gotta do it again. Jay Z, Nas, Beyoncè — all the greats — they still work to this day and we ain’t put in half the work, we ain’t even put in 25 percent of what they put iN, so until everybody’s sitting up with big-ass houses, crazy cars and families taken care of with whatever they want, I’m not satisfied and Top’s not satisfied.”
