Veteran rapper Cam’ron has filed a legal suit against J. Cole, alleging that the two agreed to a reciprocal collaboration that the latter failed to honour.
According to the filing, Cam’ron contributed a verse to J. Cole’s track “Ready ’24” — recorded as early as 2022. In return, Cam’ron claims J. Cole promised to either feature on one of Cam’ron’s future musical projects; or appear on Cam’ron and Ma$e’s sports-talk show, It Is What It Is.
Despite repeated requests over the next two years, Cam’ron says J. Cole remained “unavailable” and did not fulfil the agreement.
Cam’ron also argues that he was never properly compensated for his work on the track, and his lawsuit is seeking to be recognised as a co-author of “Ready ’24” so he may recoup earnings generated by the song.
The track “Ready ’24” appears on J. Cole’s mixtape Might Delete Later, which dropped in 2024. The situation raises questions about informal deals in the music industry: verbal promises, “feature trades,” and how they’re honoured (or not) when one party gains broader exposure. Co-author recognition can significantly impact royalty rights, credits, and control over a song’s future uses.
Given both artists’ profiles, the outcome could set a precedent for similar disputes among hip-hop collaborators. Cam’ron is asserting that his work and trust were leveraged under a promise that was never kept. With a high-profile collaborator like J. Cole and a commercially released song in question, the legal battle could shed light on business practices behind high-level rap collaborations.
J. Cole and his label (Universal Music Group) had not publicly responded to the lawsuit at this time.