Iām a foolā¦I LOVE @JColeNC
Dedicated to Mr. 3 Lās
I LOVE this kid!!! Before I go any further, Iāll 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 Iām going on the record as having a SLIGHT bias toward the kid reppinā the Carolinas. Some of my #SSHHRT (Single Simulcast Hip Hop Round Table) constituency *ahem Mr. 3 Lās* donāt share my J. Cole enthusiasm, and attribute it to a regional bias, but letās look at this objectively for a moment shall we? Cole World: The Sideline Story (which J. Cole EXECUTIVE PRODUCED) DEBUTED on Billboardās Top 200 at number No 1, and sold over 200,000 units itās first week, which in todayās digital bootleg market is a pretty good for a new comer.Ā Stick a pin in that, weāll come back to it.Ā Before his album was released in 2011, he was featured on Jay-Zās Blue Print 3 song prophetically entitled A Star Is Born, Beautiful, Bliss off Waleās Attention Deficit, and joined lyrical giants Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Jay Electronica on Reflection Eternalās single Just Begun for the Revolutions Per Minute project PAUSE. You donāt just walk into a studio with THOSE guys. It doesn't happen.Ā 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 āspit hot fiyahā #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.Ā 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 Canāt Get Enough and Work Out respectively to boot.Ā As my Grand Diva says, āEven a broke clock right twice a day.ā
Suffice it to say, yeah Carolina connection or not I am a J. Cole fan, but for good reason.Ā The first time I heard J. Cole rhyming on Waleās 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.Ā His referencing āthe Villeā especially made my ears perk up.Ā By the time he had finished spittinā, 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??? Iāve 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.Ā I Googled J. Cole, and silently admonished myself for not knowing about him. Iām supposed to be up on these things! How did I let him slip by me? Heās from North Carolina for Godās 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.Ā Iāve been following his career, his work, his ācontroversies,ā and whenever thereās something new I move hill and mountain to get it in my ear. His latest single release Iām A Fool, Iām feeling for a couple of reasons. The very first being the how of its release.Ā 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 isā¦wellā¦the song itself.Ā J.Cole produced the track sampling Cee-Lo.Ā Itās very hard to go wrong with Cee-lo. If you canāt make great songā¦with Cee-Loā¦you FAIL! You should quit, I mean granted, it DID happen to Goodie M.O.B. (Iām sooo sorry for that one!), but there were other extenuating circumstances in that situation. No matter,Ā J. Cole samples Cee-Loās Fool For You, and does it justice. If youāve ever heard the original song, you know itās a deeply personal ballad in which he conveys to his listeners his most personal emotions about the one whom he adores.Ā Already, sampling this song has signified an uphill battle, itās not everyday one can take anotherās 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,Ā 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
In a time when many of Raps most devoted of votaries had all but given up hope on the future of the Culture that seemed to be dependent on Soulja Boys, Wacka Flocka Flames (the fucka is a Wacka Flocka?), Gucci Mane, and the like, J. Cole is one of a growing number of oases in the desert of fuckary. Yeah, I said it! Ā Is he the G.O.A.T.? Not by a long shot, but is he a dope emcee? Can he spit? Is he a praise worthy young emcee? Does a bear shit in the woods, and wipe his ass with a fluffy white rabbit (R.I.P. Tupac)? To that end, Iām not saying heās the NICEST emcee out there, Iām not saying heās the next Hov, but letās stop with all the J. Cole hate, because the fact of the matter is, with only one studio album under his belt, heās doing pretty well for himself and Hip Hop Culture too!














