I never had an issue with J. Cole’s apology. I thought his diss track was forced and not very good. When he said he basically did it because of peer pressure, it sounded like it. He was always cool with Kendrick and Drake.
That's where Cole fukked up with the track. He talked about Kendrick's discography when he's never made an album on the level of TPAB for example. That's not the kind of thing he wants people to look into because until FHD, nobody saw him as an album artist. Even now, that album is seen as his best work, something he compared to a championship ring.
Looking back, I see what you mean. He probably repeated things he heard people say online or IRL and just recited them. I'm guessing this track was just a warning and not the killshot, but we never got to hear what an actual Cole diss track would sound like and we never will.