J. Cole

The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights

The hunger is there. The wordplay is there. It's just the originality in 2024 that's not there. I missed the J Cole bus. I would have liked this stuff when it was released, though even then I think I was getting past it. Kanye, with perhaps inferior wordsmithing, was surpassing Cole in most other ways at this time. Kanye was actually going too far, but at least he was testing the boundaries. Cole sounds solid and safe. It's hard not to like these mixtapes; it's also hard to love them, 14 years, many innovations, and one Kendrick forward. It needs nostalgia. Actually, it's still really good stuff, lyrically, but the sounds are basic at this point. I could see it representing some kind of golden age though, that I missed. I mean I caught some other rappers then, but I missed Cole, potentially superior or more quintessential if not more lasting. Kanye, Drake, and Eminem stuck around.

Cole World

This is great stuff. His rhymes are advanced, his beats strong. It's sentimental and cerebral like I always liked. It just doesn't hit me. I'm too late for it. Maybe it was never groundbreaking? It's kind of sad, because he's doing such a good job, and he's so driven, and I'm so sober. All-around solid rap, good for him, doesn't make an impact rn.

The consistency is astounding. Every song is good! How does he come up with so many crisp lines?