At a time when celebrities are facing scrutiny for their inaction and silence on matters of literal life and death, it’s important for him to speak up-and embarrassing that he used the moment to condescend to a woman about how she communicates with men. “Snow on Tha Bluff” suggests he feels like a fraud of sorts himself: someone who’s been placed on a pedestal he doesn’t deserve someone considering the idea that perhaps he isn’t doing as much for Black people as he can. Cole released “False Prophets,” a song in which he held Kanye West (who he idolized), among others, to the flame. Someone perceptive enough to recognize and contextualize other’s missteps should have some degree of self-awareness. And if you’re complaining about someone’s delivery, there’s a good chance the bigger issue soared right over your head. Men can’t ask women to hold their hands-and then suggest the best way to lead is to follow their instruction. Cole, who’s 35, says during the song’s lone verse. “Just ‘cause you woke and I’m not, that shit ain’t no reason to talk like you better than me/How you gon’ lead when you attackin’ the very same niggas that really do need, the shit that you sayin’?/Instead of conveying you holier, come help get us up to speed,” J. Noname aside, “Snow on Tha Bluff” highlights a pernicious kind of misogyny: Cole’s perspective is that of the man who’s happy to listen to the women in his life, provided they speak to him in a way that flatters his ego. But “Snow on Tha Bluff,” his first single of 2020, is an instance where saying less-or nothing at all-would’ve been ideal.īut the track mostly fails as an attempt to communicate.
He’s erred in the past but gotten by, thanks to the same humble honesty that can get him in trouble-you could forgive him, because he at least seemed to be coming from a good place. Cole’s earnestness has largely shielded him from major criticism. His rap conservatism is so deep-rooted that it’s manifested conceptually too: The hip-hop community interpreted his 2018 album, KOD, as sweeping criticism of a new generation of rappers doomed to fizzle out because they aren’t married to the same values that guide him. Cole told this very magazine he’d grown tired of it. His last three albums, you may have heard, went platinum without any guest appearances-the impetus for a joke so worn out that J. He’s self-produced a significant portion of his discography. Cole’s less-is-more approach has made him one of the most successful figures in hip-hop. Noname responded with “Song 33,” a track she later admitted she was not proud of releasing, while Cole also walked back his criticisms of Noname.Over the past decade, J. The song appeared to be, in part, a diss track aimed at Chicago rapper Noname. Cole released “Snow on tha Bluff,” which arrived in the middle of last summer’s uprising against police brutality and systemic racism. Prior to dropping “The Climb Back” and “Lion King on Ice,” J. Cole released a pair of tracks, “The Climb Back” and “Lion King on Ice.” At the time, he said the two tracks would appear on his next album, then titled The Fall Off it’s unclear if they’ll now appear on The Off-Season, or if The Fall Off remains a separate project to be released later. Cole’s sixth studio album and follow his 2018 offering, KOD, as well as the 2019 Dreamville Records compilation, Revenge of the Dreamers III.
My new album The Off-Season available everywhere 5/14 /aBw4po8fvx The rapper announced the new LP on Twitter Tuesday, May 4th, sharing what’s ostensibly the album cover and a short note, “Just know this was years in the making.” No other additional information, such as a track list, was immediately available. Cole will release his next album, The Off-Season, next Friday, May 14th.