This directly ties to the "Why I Like J. Cole" thought in the thoughts section of this site (It's more fleshed out and discusses philosphy as well as some other poignant stuff). Read it when you can.
Someone online made a 7-minute video on TikTok about how J. Cole is what happens when a person never really works past their baseline intelligence. No one will watch it, but here is the link: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSxV6h7VV/
Anyway, I agree with most of the takes there. The issue is, there are a number of assumptions:
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That J. Cole is smart at all. (Or at least in a way which would allow his message to resonate with you as an art connoisseur.)
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That there aren't people exactly like him who his subject matter matters to.
2.5. Or that his subject matter and growth could be measurable in any way — how do you know he didn't start his career at the height of his possible intelligence?(Probably the most important conversation in this rant, but it's a rant, so chale, think yourself)
- That being less intelligent is an empathetic and, by extension, moral failing. (Which could be a legitimate argument we can explore later.)
(Also, the statements made are just flat-out disingenuous. He has a bunch of songs about the world around him — "See World," "Be Free," etc. — even from his older projects. I wonder whether people think Joey Bada$$ didn't get smarter too.)
I just think that sometimes people are just not the best at the things you would want them to be the best at. What matters, truly, is them choosing things that make them happy and working on what they can.
I will not sit here and pretend J. Cole's passive centrist politics are great. I do however think that we should be more willing to appreciate nuance in perspective and to recognize where growth happens. "J. Cole finds it hard to tell stories from other perspectives — his verse on 'Lost Ones' is very stupid." Well, that was earlier in his life. He improves, and I would argue that 4 Your Eyez Only and songs like "Let Go My Hand" disprove that line of thinking. Not everyone is a genius like Noname, JID, or Kendrick.
He isn't the greatest artist, but he is definitely a great rapper. To say he hasn't progressed past his baseline intelligence is a stretch — we don't even know that. All of this is because he doesn't present his art the way YOU want it. Because he isn't "artsy" enough about it. Because he just tells a story and doesn't impose an opinion about it. Anyway.
This is a rant. It is a rant for a reason — it is poorly fleshed out. Anyway.
The question is: is he daft, or do you just not appreciate the presentation, his perspective, and his socialization? And if your answer is that he is daft, you might lack empathy.
(Also, AI was used solely for punctuations. Thank you for reading to the end shaa. Anyway.)