20 of J Cole’s Best Storytelling Songs

In typical Rihanna fashion, she bluntly shut down the rumors, tweeting, “We don’t believe U, U need more people … AND ofcourse an actual sextape! #Slownewsday.” Cole’s sixth album, “The Off-Season,” is filled with songs that convey triumph and relief. Like Lamar, Cole presents himself as a philosopher trying to keep his head down as bullets whiz past, even though navigating the crossfire can be deadlier than choosing a side. He describes pulling a trigger for the first time, as a child, as a Faustian bargain, and invokes chalk outlines as a constant omen of long odds.

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Four songs from The Off-Season debuted in the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100; every song on the album charted in the top forty. The album scored a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Also, “Pride Is the Devil” was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, while “My Life” was nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. On April 20, 2018, Cole released his fifth studio album, KOD, a 12-track project that went featureless for a third consecutive time. However, the project debuted a new alter-ego of his, kiLL edward.

• Cole, who is not exactly prolific on social media despite boasting almost eight million followers on Instagram and a further 14.3 million on Twitter, has yet to confirm plans to release new music.
• Additionally, he elaborated that his father was addicted to drugs and did not want to follow the same path.
• J. Cole is a prime example of using the glamorization of drug use to fuel the commercial side of music.
• She’s hopeful her son’s lyrics can help start important discussions around addiction.
• On May 15, 2021, Cole released his long-awaited sixth studio album The Off-Season containing 12 tracks, 10 of which being brand new.

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The 37-year-old has remained mostly controversy-free throughout his career, and minimal details are known about his personal life. Despite living mostly under the radar, over the years Cole has earned a loyal fanbase that sings his praises to anyone who listens. J. Cole is a prime example of using the glamorization of drug use to fuel the commercial side of music. He raps about drug use to relate to a specific market but says in his personal life it’s really not for him. Unlike some of his fellow Odd Future members, Tyler, The Creator made a deliberate decision to not smoke or drink. In an interview with Fantastic Man, he recalled when he told someone to stop smoking in the studio.

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In the ICM company box at the Staples Center, Dreamville’s extended roster is on hand. Cole and Hamad have courtside seats, but they spend most of the game in the box. It’s that sitting down there, near the other celebrities, doesn’t excite him. He feels at home among his close friends, and opportunities to hang these days are few and far between.

J. Cole’s 2018 album “KOD” took aim at the glorification of drugs in today’s society. Addiction is a personal issue for him and has always been something he rapped about in his music. In his songs, Cole raps candidly about witnessing his mother struggle with addiction. “I gotta leave this house ’cause part of me dies when I see her like this, too young to deal with pain, I’d rather run the streets than see her kill herself,” he raps on “Once an Addict.” He rapped about drug use on his first few Alcoholics Anonymous albums, but it was not until after 2004’s Encore that he sought help.

• In both, he stands off to the side, the background smoking.
• He skips Isaac Hayes “Walk on By,” and turns the volume up loud for Raphael Saadiq’s “Still Ray.” Suddenly, the car screeches to a halt.
• Cole was just an aspiring rapper and producer hoping to make a track for his favorite rapper, Jay-Z.
• His knack for recounting these stories—whether lighthearted or heavy—is among the most deft of his generation; every word is chosen precisely and no bars are wasted.

He plugged it in, pressed record, whispering so he wouldn’t wake his wife and kid. Shortly afterward, Cole’s manager hopped on Twitter and denied that he was beaten up and thrown out of the party. In an effort to squash the rumors, Cole and Diddy later posted a lighthearted video together poking fun at the fight. “I started off on a military base, and I remember moving — I guess this was after my parents got divorced — from there to a trailer park. It was one of the scariest places I’ve been to, because I was always worried about my mother,” he told NPR. It wasn’t until he was in the fifth grade that Cole’s family moved into the suburbs. As a young biracial kid, seeing both sides of the track left an impression on him.

Once again, the album went platinum with no credited features. The next day, when production moves to a public street in West Hills, Cole faces one of his biggest challenges — trying to fly under the radar while working on an album in secret. He’s spotted by a pair of kids across the street, and a mailman doing his job; both want photos. Cole tells the kids he’ll get the photo with them when he’s done; the mailman he tells to wait, then changes j cole sober his mind and takes the picture. But he also knows this — with his new record, K.O.D., he’s got the No. 1 album in the country, what’s projected to be the best-selling record of the year so far, and most important to him, it’s resonating deeply with his fans.

He has released several songs about the negative aspects of drug abuse and has even challenged the prescription drug industry on their role in the drug addiction trend. Royce Da 5’9”, Eminem’s fellow Bad Meets Evil partner and former Slaughterhouse signee, went through his own struggles with alcoholism. The Detroit lyricist has rapped about his addiction and recovery in his music. J. Cole’s KOD album even explored the severity of drug abuse and addiction. Unfortunately, drug use in hip hop is nothing new, as we have lost talents like Pimp C, Mac Miller, and Juice WRLD to overdoses. As a result of the toll that addiction can take on an individual, many rappers have become sober and are inspiring others to do so as well.