In music today, if the beat doesn’t drop within the first 10 seconds and make you turn up, you’re more likely to change the song. At times, I am guilty of this. Music is changing and our attention spans continue to decrease. But as a fan of J. Cole, as well as a black woman and overall music lover, I believe it’s my duty to listen and dissect his albums, because he makes music for us. J. Cole never fails to break down and articulate every emotion and experience that black people have faced and continue to experience in the “country of the free.” He is one of the few artists that has always used his privilege and platform to make music that validates our experiences and educates the masses. Basically, J. Cole makes music for decades to come and not just for right now.
When I think about old albums, it’s rare that I search for a trap album from back in the day. I always return to artists like Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z and others from the '90s, a time when I felt music was more authentic and meaningful. J. Cole does a great job of painting the picture for current artists in the industry with his song “1985.” Cole positions himself as a teacher, sharing some truths to the youngins about the game of rap. Cole explains why it’s essential to make an impact and be your authentic self, rather than following the trends to fill your pockets temporarily.
In “Photograph,” J. Cole sums up what love looks like in the millennial age. We are all guilty of having a social media admirer. We follow someone who’s cute, whose content is relevant and meaningful, but we know nothing about them. We sit there and wonder, what if we started a conversation with this person, what would that look like? What can you even say to resonate with a person you think you like because of social media? We double tap, maybe comment on a picture here and there, but then what? Shoot your shot, or nah? I guess it depends on the individual.
“The Cut Off.” Whew! I can relate to this song so much. J. Cole tells us that time will tell who is there for us through thick and thin, through your glow ups and your dark moments. It’s OK to cut people off for your mental health. It’s not always easy, but it’s necessary. The universe will always work itself out to those who hurt, used and abused you. It’s not your job to keep tabs on how the universe decides to deal with those individuals.
“ATM.” I mean, who doesn’t love this song? The beat is fye, duh! The music video is great and, let’s be real, our world and our well-being often revolves around money. J. Cole says it best, “You can’t take it when you die, but you can’t live without it.” I will say from my experience, enjoy the money while it’s here, but don’t let it be your everything. Material things fade, people die and the money will always be here and outlive us all.
“Brackets" has to be my absolute favorite on the album. I mean, wow. J. Cole sums up the modern slavery that black people continue to face in America. From J. Cole’s point of view, he built his success from the ground up by beating the odds of his surroundings growing up, making a name for himself, only to be reeled back in by Uncle Sam and the taxes he has to pay to the IRS. There is a part in the song where Cole is having a phone conversation with Uncle Sam; you can hear the excitement at the beginning of the conversation because he is finally happy to be a millionaire, only to get taxed $500,000, which is half of what he just made.
J. Cole dives deeper by questioning where this money is going. It’s supposed to be going towards schools, roads and uplifting the community, yet that’s never the case. J. Cole breaks down the cycle of what happens to this money. The money that should be going towards making sure black kids graduate only go to hiring white teachers, teaching white heroes throughout history in textbooks and, as Cole said it, “One thing about the men that’s controlling the pen that write history, they always seem to white-out their sins.”
I felt that line on a deep and personal level. I remember growing up believing in the system because my Haitian parents, who sacrificed everything to come to America, told me that I should listen and do well in school. Being older, I now know that they didn’t know better, but it took me many years to undo and delete the white history I was told to be true. It took me a long time to find out the real heroes in history and, most importantly, find those who represented me. Cole also expresses that Democracy is outdated and that he should be able to decide where his money is going, rather than it going to members of Congress that he’s never met before, who fund big companies, including guns, that end up circulating in black neighborhoods.
The last song I’ll highlight is “Friends.” I want to thank J. Cole for highlighting the drug problem that we have in the black community. It’s nothing new that we have trauma in our communities, but instead of talking about our problems, we push our issues far away until we get old enough to medicate and deal with our issues through drug use. Over the last couple years, primarily through rap music, I’ve noticed that the number of drugs mentioned in music has increased, and that’s translated to the drug use in our communities. Now and then, I’ll read an article about another artist who died from drugs at a young age. It’s time that we change this narrative. I know it won’t happen overnight, but we have so many resources now to change how we deal with our reality. We have therapy, support groups and, hell, we even have social media. Life is hard. That is something that will never change. But rather than killing ourselves, let’s find a way to beat the odds and help resolve these issues for generations to come.
Overall, I love this album so much. J. Cole is always on time with his message and delivery. J. Cole, thank you for staying true to yourself. We appreciate you so much! If you haven't listened to this album yet, you're missing out! There's a message for all of us inside!
