#off deez

The rap features sphere has been set aflame because of a certain prolific wordsmith: Jermaine Cole, Fayetteville’s finest and Dreamville’s founder. Cole-assisted classics - from the relaxingly-instrumented, nostalgia-tinged “Boblo Boat” helmed by Royce da 5′9″ to 21 Savage’s sample-backed observation on excess, “a lot” - have filled 2018, reminding audiences that the rapper will consistently conquer hip-hop conversations. Known for producing multiple platinum-plated projects without superfluous assistance, Cole ironically steals stars’ spotlight while playing the supporting role. 

In the midst of a homophonic rap setting, in which meaningless melodies and mumbles thrive, Cole’s rhymes and styles are dynamic and diverse. On “OSOM,” an antsy collaboration with Jay Rock, he plays into the paramount theme of paranoia by mentioning pills that assuage anxiety, simultaneously reflecting on hip-hop’s conspicuous drug culture. His bars run through the record’s ominous haze; they are dense, and, therefore, speedily delivered. The rapid, jam-packed verse is necessary, though, because it augments Rock’s heightened sense of reality. Contrarily, when recruited for “Pretty Little Fears,” 6lack’s soothing meditation on vulnerability, Cole became gentler and basked in that track’s tranquility. His words are peaceful and poetic as opposed to his earlier lines of crippling apprehension. 

Oftentimes, prolificacy hints at weakened ability, as the more music an artist puts out, the less original and outstanding the content; Cole defies those pessimistic expectations. Quality ushers his quantity. As he asserts in his slot on “a lot,” his gifted grasp of the rap craft has “got to the point that these rappers don't even like rappin' with me” out of fear of being overshadowed by the giant that is J. Cole. As he matures, Cole equips his rhymes with more acuteness, skill, and variety because he is “on a mission, cementin' the spot as the greatest who did it.” His talent is not diminished by an expanding catalog; it is strengthened.