#lyrically driven

“Let me say for the record, I am not a gangster and never have been. I’m not the thief who grabs your purse. I’m not the guy who jacks your car. I’m not down with the people who steal and hurt others. I'm just a brother who fight back.”

Dedicated to Mr. 3 L’s

I LOVE this kid!!! Before I go any further, I’ll put it all on the table. I originally from Ohio, but I moved to North Carolina fifteen years ago, and this is the place I call home, so I’m going on the record as having a SLIGHT bias toward the kid reppin’ the Carolinas. Some of my #SSHHRT (Single Simulcast Hip Hop Round Table) constituency *ahem Mr. 3 L’s* don’t share my J. Cole enthusiasm, and attribute it to a regional bias, but let’s look at this objectively for a moment shall we? Cole World: The Sideline Story (which J. Cole EXECUTIVE PRODUCED) DEBUTED on Billboard’s Top 200 at number No 1, and sold over 200,000 units it’s first week, which in today’s digital bootleg market is a pretty good for a new comer.  Stick a pin in that, we’ll come back to it.  Before his album was released in 2011, he was featured on Jay-Z’s Blue Print 3 song prophetically entitled A Star Is Born, Beautiful, Bliss off Wale’s Attention Deficit, and joined lyrical giants Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Jay Electronica on Reflection Eternal’s single Just Begun for the Revolutions Per Minute project PAUSE. You don’t just walk into a studio with THOSE guys. It doesn't happen.  Jay-Z or not, a crew track with the likes of those three, for a veritable new-jack on the Rap scene, is confirmation from the Rap Gods that you “spit hot fiyah” #noDylan, and he holds his own! Again, all of this before his first album has hit the streets.

All of the heavy rhyme repertoire not withstanding, his critical acclaim is undeniable. Beyond Race Magazine ranked J. Cole among their 2010 50 Great Breakthrough Artists, XXL Magazine spotlighted him in their 2010 Top Ten Freshmen edition, as well as being awarded the UMA (Underground Mixtape Awards)Male Artist of the Year.  Oh yes, now back to Cole World, to date it has sold over a half a million copies according to its RIAA status as Gold, and now has Gold and Platinum singles thanks to Can’t Get Enough and Work Out respectively to boot.  As my Grand Diva says, “Even a broke clock right twice a day.”

Suffice it to say, yeah Carolina connection or not I am a J. Cole fan, but for good reason.  The first time I heard J. Cole rhyming on Wale’s Beautiful Bliss. I had no idea who I was listening to, but the raspy, staccato, cockiness with just a slightly southern twang caught my attention.  His referencing “the Ville” especially made my ears perk up.  By the time he had finished spittin’, I was looking sideways at my speakers for an audible aberration.

I'm definitely in a class of my own At dinner with Hov hoping that he pass the baton He just pass the Patron Ain't nothing given, dog, it's earned if you just living, dog, you learn I let you niggas see the light I'm like the prison yard, I yearn For that living large, but mama I ain't done yet Sit back and watch your sunrise Kick back and know yo son set Forever I ain't run yet and I never will Nas told me life's a bitch Pac said fuck the world and I ain't come yet You up yet My punchlines like gut checks I'm raw-dog I'm rough sex I'm on deck I'm up next I'm Godbless, I'm success so fuck stress You can get the fuck from around me And if you listening know you wondering Where the fuck they found me

Affirmative. How? What? Who was THAT??? I’ve heard the Ville. I know the Ville, I do not know who he is or where he came from, but he just MURDERED that verse.  I Googled J. Cole, and silently admonished myself for not knowing about him. I’m supposed to be up on these things! How did I let him slip by me? He’s from North Carolina for God’s sake! I got over it, listened to everything I could find on Youtube, I called my friends from the Ville and asked about him, and where I could get his music locally. A few people balked at my ignorance, then pointed me in the right direction. The rest is well, as they say history.  I’ve been following his career, his work, his “controversies,” and whenever there’s something new I move hill and mountain to get it in my ear. His latest single release I’m A Fool, I’m feeling for a couple of reasons. The very first being the how of its release.  A fan inquired via Twitter to J. Cole as to the when his they could expect his next single, and dig this, he asks the follower if he wants to hear it, what his email address is, and then SENDS it to him directly. I LOVE this kid! The other thing I'm taken with is…well…the song itself.  J.Cole produced the track sampling Cee-Lo.  It’s very hard to go wrong with Cee-lo. If you can’t make great song…with Cee-Lo…you FAIL! You should quit, I mean granted, it DID happen to Goodie M.O.B. (I’m sooo sorry for that one!), but there were other extenuating circumstances in that situation. No matter,  J. Cole samples Cee-Lo’s Fool For You, and does it justice. If you’ve ever heard the original song, you know it’s a deeply personal ballad in which he conveys to his listeners his most personal emotions about the one whom he adores.  Already, sampling this song has signified an uphill battle, it’s not everyday one can take another’s most personal testimony, and translate that into your own, but J. Cole takes this opportunity to rhyme an impassioned confessional. He reveals his struggle with being young and successful, the pressure of the fickle nature of Rap fans, what view he now has of the world from the other side of success, knowing the implications of his choices, but somehow still being compelled to make them for better or worse.

Somehow they love a nigga better when he talk about his loot Chain like a kaleidoscope,see life through a wider scope Therefore, I know this necklace really represents a noose Still I hit the jeweler how much racks to make me cooler Just play the game homie, I ain't make the rules up Started from the bottom same way you lace your shoes up So if I'm blowing cake, just blame it on the place I grew up

He discusses his real life, not too much braggadocio, just a reflection of his experiences to date. He touches on subjects at the heart of reality. Fan or not many people can relate to crushing student loan debt, carrying the weight of family expectations as the first to attend college, being distracted by collegiate life and the experiences that come with it, impressed importance of college education, only to finish with the realization going to college has proven an expensive lesson in the School of Hard Knocks,  and not all some made it out to be.

I'm a fool, hundred thou to go to school So much debt me and my mama damn near drowning in a pool The first to go to college, they say knowledge is a tool But these hoes on campus make a young nigga drool So we party, skip class, get ass and talk cool Meanwhile, she back home working hard, I use that as my fuel So I finally graduated but I'm sad to say it I ain't learn a fucking thing except the game and how to play it

I did it all for the money, Lord, it's what it seems Well, in the world of night terrors it's, hard to dream Holl'n Cash Rules Everything, let's call it (C.R.E.A.M.) 'cause when it rises to the top, you get, the finer things Oceanfronts, rollin blunts, with model chicks and sayin grace over lobster and steak like, "Please forgive us for ridin Benzes with camera plates" Too busy lookin backwards for jackers to pump my brakes For help sign to symbolize the lives that hunger takes Addicted to the green, if I don't ball I'll get the shakes I'd give it all for peace of mind, for heaven's sake My heart's so heavy that the ropes that hold my casket break   'cause everything that wasn't for me, I had to chase I had to chase...