Cam’ron Sues J. Cole Over Unfulfilled Agreement on “Ready ’24” Collaboration

Cam’ron has reportedly filed a lawsuit against J. Cole, accusing the Dreamville rapper of breaching an agreement related to their 2024 collaboration “Ready ’24.” According to a report by TMZ, the Harlem legend claims Cole failed to honor a promise made during the song’s creation.

Cam’ron alleges that his feature on “Ready ’24,” which appears on J. Cole’s mixtape Might Delete Later, was not done for free. The agreement, he says, involved an exchange: J. Cole would either record a verse for one of Cam’s songs or appear on his hit sports talk show It Is What It Is.

More than two years after recording the track, Cam’ron claims J. Cole has yet to deliver on either option. He alleges that multiple attempts to finalize the collaboration or secure Cole’s appearance on the show have been ignored.

The Dipset icon is now asking a judge to officially name him as a co-author of “Ready ’24,” which would entitle him to a share of the song’s royalties. Cam estimates that his share amounts to at least $500,000. He is also seeking a full accounting of the song’s earnings to determine the total owed.

So far, neither artist has publicly commented on the lawsuit.

“Ready ’24” stands out as one of two collaborations between the rappers. The track samples Dipset’s 2003 classic “I’m Ready” and features a rare guest verse from Cam’ron. Their first joint effort came in 2021 on “95. South,” the opening song of J. Cole’s The Off-Season, where Cam delivered a trademark spoken-word intro and outro that set the tone for the project.

J. Cole’s Might Delete Later has already been surrounded by controversy. The mixtape, released by surprise in April 2024, featured a track responding to Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Like That” by Future and Metro Boomin. The song marked the first lyrical clash between Cole and Lamar, two rappers who had long expressed mutual respect.

Days after releasing the project, J. Cole publicly apologized to Kendrick during his Dreamville Festival set and vowed to remove the diss track from streaming services. The move sparked debate across the hip-hop world, with some praising his humility and others viewing it as unnecessary backtracking.

Now, the Cam’ron lawsuit adds another layer of tension to what has been a turbulent year for J. Cole. If the case proceeds, it could shed light on how informal collaborations in the hip-hop industry are negotiated, documented, and monetized — especially when mutual favors replace traditional contracts.