J. Cole kicked off his tour in support of latest album ‘The Off-Season’ over the weekend in Miami, where he brought out both Drake and Future to perform the duo’s Right Said Fred-sampling collaboration ‘Way 2 Sexy’.

Following the performance of the ‘Certified Lover Boy’ hit, Drizzy shared his admiration for Cole onstage.

“I’ve got to say this, just ’cause I don’t always want to have a heartfelt moment when we’re on stage together and shit, but you know, you did that ‘Pipe Down’ freestyle the other day, right?” he told Cole, referencing the latter sampling Drake’s beat for a new single titled ‘Heaven’s EP’ last week.

“You was saying in the freestyle about, you know, they handed you the bronze, whatever, whatever, me and Kendrick. I just want you to understand something. You are genuinely, without a doubt, one of the greatest rappers to ever touch a mic.”

Drizzy was referencing one of Cole’s lyrics in the freestyle, where he rapped: “Some people say that I’m running third, they threw the bronze at me/Behind Drake and Dot, yeah, them n****s is superstars to me.”

Drake refuted Cole’s assertion, telling him, “There’s way too many people in the world that think and know that J. Cole is at top in the pole position.

“I love you with all my heart, you’re my brother, one of my favourite artists, and I always appreciate you having me out here.”

Watch the moment, including the ‘Way 2 Sexy’ performance, below:

Earlier in the set, Drake appeared onstage with Cole to perform two other ‘Certified Lover Boy’ cuts – ‘Laugh Now, Cry Later’ and ‘Knife Talk’, the latter with 21 Savage. Both Savage and Morray also joined Cole to perform their ‘The Off-Season’ collab ‘My Life’.

It’s not the first time Drake has publicly praised Cole. In an interview with Rap Radar in 2019, the rapper said he had a “lot of respect” for Cole – along with Kendrick Lamar – for “continuing to stay true to what we started with and finding new ways to do it”.

“I think for all three of us, it is the time to see who can transcend the generations, much like Jay did, or much like Wayne did.”