The Wise Voice of Rap: J. Cole
Rap is a unique form of music, and just like any other music, it is an expression of feelings. A plain-spoken evaluation of what is happening in one’s surroundings. It is honest, it is raw, it is unsolicited. Rap can be political, it can be volatile, it can mend broken connections and sever relationships, with its capacity for brutal honesty. There are many artists who are not afraid, but rather embrace, this raw and volatile truthfulness. They use it to expose the ugliness of the music industry, as well as the realities that black people and people of color experience on a daily basis, from love to politics and everything in between. Rap is an unapologetic form of art, which needs to be embraced by the right artist, in order to make an impact: that person is Jermaine Cole.
Cole is the embodiment of the rawness and brutal honesty that is needed to put a light on issues as important as race, and the realities of being a part of something as ludicrous as the music industry. J. Cole embraces his role as an outspoken rapper who calls the music industry and other rappers out on their bluffs. You can see this through his lyrical genius in “Fire Squad” in which he raps:
“Same way that these rappers always bite each others flows
Same thing that my nigga Elvis did with Rock n Roll
Justin Timberlake, Eminem, and then Macklemore
While silly niggas argue over who gone snatch the crown
Look around my nigga white people have snatched the sound
This year I'll prolly go to the awards dappered down
Watch Iggy win a Grammy as I try to crack a smile
I'm just playin', but all good jokes contain true shit
Same rope you climb up on, they'll hang you with”
The North Carolina rapper is not afraid to call out some of the biggest names in the industry for appropriating a form of art created by black people to express our anger, our disdain, our pain, our misery - there are so many more adjectives I can use - with the ways that we have been treated throughout history, this is not just limited to rap, but with rock n’ roll and pop. J. Cole calls out those who need to be called out whether they were friends, foes, lyrical geniuses, legends etc..
The strange thing about conscious rap - at least to me - is the fact that conscious rappers tend to bring more controversy than understanding. Even within black communities, there seems to be a divide over how conscious music should be interpreted, and whether or not there will be actual visible change that will be caused by ‘out there’ music. The situation that I just described was perfectly illustrated by a beef between some of the biggest artists in the game, namely Noname, and Chance the Rapper, who backed up Noname’s claims that J. Cole’s specialty is empty gestures. The feud or I guess ‘beef’ between Cole and Noname shows just how deep rooted the divide in the black community is when it comes to positive change, in every move for change there will always be one person who sits behind a screen typing “what you’re doing is not enough”. However the lyrical genius Jermaine Lamar Cole embodies is what is desperately needed, in order to achieve clarity which will lead to a much needed change.