I have a lot of feelings about J. Cole.
J Cole is like that college friend you used to chase chicks with that grew up a little too much. You chill with him because of the friendship you had in the past but you don’t see him too often cuz he’s such a bummer.
He’s the friend who gives out Condoms at the beginning of the night so everyone can practice safe sex. I wanna be mad at him but he’s just looking out for us.
Yep, J Cole is very mature. I try avoid being adult but Jermaine reminds me time and time again that we’re always getting older.
So let’s get into KOD.
First things first, J Cole can rap, like really really rap. I might hate the stuff he raps about sometimes but I will always listen to his verses. If he was a drink he’d be Water. Some people really love water, but most people can’t get excited for Water. The problem is that Jermaine doesn’t seem to be excited for water either.
This album covers drug abuse in the community, and it’s clear that J Cole has seen people torn apart by addiction. He needs to help those around him clear the fog but he really doesn’t want to. Every song sounds like an obligation, like “I used up my vacation time to take care of you”.
The more I listened to this album the more I thought to myself “J. Cole needs new friends”
Not his old friends, not his rap friends, new actual friends. J. Cole needs a group chat he can dive into and crack jokes. Or a fantasy football league, or a book club SOMETHING. It feels like the only people around him want to come up off him or want to out rap him. He needs to go to a birthday party.
J. Cole is just always alone, so much so he makes all his beats. That is DRAINING. In his early days it was necessity, he had no choice but to make his beats. But now he has money and platinum plaques. Producers are probably dying to make him some beats. I’m not saying the beats are terrible (they’re meh) but they’re taking up energy. Cuz now Jermaine gotta worry about rapping, his beats, his kid, his marriage, Fayetteville, Black America, his record label, the Infinity War etc etc; it’s mad shit. No one needs to work harder than a Jamaican Father Of 4.
Thinking about all of his responsibilities makes me understand why college kids like him so much. This level of multitasking is what kids dream about, except the difference is that they’re all on adderall and he’s painfully sober.
Overall this album is good, J. Cole raps well and gets his point across. Drugs are Bad. It’s a simple point but honestly he’s got too much going on to think about things in a deeper way. Would I have loved to see J. Cole rap about how drugs are seen as the only way to cope with the stress of poverty in a society where mental health is not a priority? Of course. But dude got like 9 jobs and he’s working doubles on 5 of those shifts. He doesn’t have the time. I really want him to take a vacation. I give KOD 6 “Well do you have McDonalds Money?” Out Of 10.