"Platinum with NO features"
It’s a fucking Cole world out here whether you like it or not-grab that blanket boi. The Dreamville rap assassin has had the game in a choke-hold for about eight years now and he’s far from being done. He’s definitely in the top tier within the rap game and can easily be put up there with the legends like Kendrick and don’t get mad at me, even 2pac (lyrically). What makes J. Cole unique? What makes him a dope artist? Let me tell you.
Photo taken by: Twin Cities Hip-hop Corner
First off he’s part of the elite group of artists going platinum with no features to this date. Only a handful of artists can be part of this group; one can even argue that its even harder for a rapper to make this list. People might say “hey bro get off his dick.” and I’m here to say respect his artistry as well as his work ethic. There are a lot of people that dislike Cole because they either don’t like hearing the truth, or think he is doing too much preaching. In reality, we should be thankful for his “conscious rap”. I also find it hilarious that we need to put him in his own category because he doesn’t fit in with the others. If you were to put Cole in the past or future he would thrive because his music is timeless. Some of his beats include the old-school characteristic of the boom-bap sound, while also keeping a balance and featuring heavy trap beats with aggressive snares.
Cole’s message is always relevant. On this ‘KOD’ album the song titled ‘1985-Intro to The Fall off’ addresses the new generation of rappers and how they may not last long due to the content in which they rap on. He put all the new generation rappers on blast but the main one people seemed to think he was aiming shots at was trap superstar Lil Pump. For this reason alone Cole received plenty of attention from both sides of the hip-hop spectrum. Is it possible that he somewhat divided the game or was it already split? Where is the rap game headed and what will be our expectations five years from now?
Cole also has a super sweet team behind him, along with the dope artists that he signed: Cozz, Bas, Ari, Lute, Earth Gang, J.I.D, and Omen. So make sure you aren’t sleepin’ on these cats. Do yourself a BIG favor: sit down and resonate with Cole’s message.