J. Cole’s got a brand new set of balls. Since revealing
yesterday that he’ll be dropping another album on the 9th, two
singles with accompanying music videos were released. The songs “Everybody Dies”
and “False Prophets (Be Like This)” were among the top 5 trending topics on
Twitter since they came out this morning. “False Prophets (Be Like This)” was
the most popular of the two due to speculation of the song addressing two
rappers in particular.
In the first verse Cole talks about a rapper who used to be
his hero but he’s currently falling from grace and it’s hard to watch. This is
no doubt about Kanye West who’s been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons
lately. The lyrics point to it:
“Ego in charge of every move he’s a star”
“Falling apart, but we deny it/ Justifying the half-ass sh*t
he dropped, we always buy it”
“The world’s eggin
him on, I’m beggin him to stop/ and playin his old sh*t knowing he won’t top
it”
We’re not going to get into the second verse which is
supposedly aimed at Wale. I agree with pretty much everything Cole said in
that. Let’s get to why J. Cole was dead wrong for that first verse.
First of all, where does J. Cole get off by bad
disrespecting the greatest artist of this generation? I get that he said Kanye
was his hero and all, but he made Kanye out to be another phony in the industry
that J. Cole has figured out. Strike 1... He said Kanye was falling apart. Strike 2... He called TLOP half assed...Strike 3... He called Ye out for having ghostwriters. There’s a difference between expressing concern and exposing
somebody. J. Cole was trying to expose Kanye and I said “trying” because he
revealed things that we already knew. We know Kanye has an ego; we know he has
yes men around him and uses ghostwriters. This is nothing new. The tone and
overall way these things were said is what makes it all so disrespectful. Regardless
of whether what Cole said was the truth, the way he did it was inappropriate. You
think J. Cole would say something like that about Nas? Remember how sheepishly he called him out for “You Owe Me” on “Let Nas Down” If he came at Nas
the way he came at Kanye, do you think Nas would’ve responded with “Made Nas
Proud” Hell no.
Respect your O.G.’s That goes for Drake too. I’m sorry for getting
sidetracked, but I have to address this issue too. Drake is not and will not
ever be in a position to exchange jabs with Jay-Z. Jay-Z is one of the greatest
of all-time and Drake doesn’t even have a classic album. Jay did him a favor
when he featured in “Light Up” and gave him advice on the industry. He blessed him
again with that scene stealing feature on “Pound Cake.” Then Drake went and ran
his mouth talking about how Jay can’t go a verse without mentioning his art
collection? Then he wanted to pop off talking about some “I used to want to be
on Roc-a-Fella then I turned into Jay.” Take it easy. He’s doing big numbers
and all but the O.G.’s and the barbershop regulars don’t all respect him. This
whole thing about idols becoming your rivals treads a thin line between
confidence and disrespect. It’s one thing for the student to get to the point
where he can challenge the master, but the respect must never be compromised.
Now back to Cole.
Check the resumes. Despite where Kanye is at right now, his
career and impact in the world eclipses J. Cole’s by a whopping margin. J. Cole’s
path was paved thanks to Kanye. There would’ve been no Come Up if it weren’t
for College Dropout. The first time I
and many of us even heard of J. Cole was in Kanye’s song “Looking for Trouble.”
Cole even thanked Kanye on the credits of Cole World: The Sideline Story for
allowing him to be featured on it.
The bottom line is –If he is your O.G. and helped put you on,
watch how you speak on his name. Unless you yourself were attacked, don’t say anything
worthy of starting a beef.
Now let’s talk about Kanye, people say he’s has fallen off.
I think “fallen off” is a bit harsh. Has he gone off the handle? Yes, but this
guy is going through something right now. The lengthy rants, which he called visionary
streams of consciousness, are nothing new. They’re more aggressive than normal
and the Sacramento walk out was bizarre and pretty terrible. I can’t defend
what he did there. But keep in mind that he’s coming from a place of
frustration and paranoia. His wife and kids could’ve been killed and he wouldn’t
have been able to do anything about it. He’s blackballed by the same industries
he’s influenced. He’s proven to be a genius yet few want to invest in him. He’s
been considered a crazy egomaniac by millions for many years and the people he’s
fought for don’t even support him. That’s gotta hurt the most. Imagine being
willing to go to war for somebody but they won’t even pick you up when you’re
wounded. I’m looking at you, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Kid Cudi, his semi-protégé,
called him out and that affected Kanye as well. And he’s dealt with all of this
while on tour. It builds up. Nobody would be able handle these things and still
be who they once were. As we can see from his admittance to the hospital this
stuff if affecting Yes health so of course it’s going to affect his work.
I’m not mad at J. Cole for saying what he said in “False
Prophets (Be Like This).” I just believe this is not what Kanye needs to hear
and it’s not for someone like J. Cole to say. Instead of shaking our heads and saying
that water is wet we should be encouraging someone who’s been a hero to many of
us and lending a hand.
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