Jermaine Lamar Cole, better known by his stage name, J.
Cole, is a hip-hop recording artist in America. I have closely studied
one of his songs, called “Let Nas Down.” Nas is an old-school rapper from New
York City. By studying the lyrics of “let Nas Down,” I have determined quite a
few things about J. Cole’s life. His lyrics demonstrate his inspiration for
rapping, and the goal of his music. The inspiration for his rapping career is
old-school rappers, especially Nas. People like Nas and 2pac are idols to him,
and he wants to be like them. His goal for his music is to rap from the heart,
and be different from modern rappers.
Many
of J. Cole’s lyrics in the song demonstrate his motivation for rapping. One
part of the chorus is, “Yeah, long live the idols may they never be your
rivals/Pac was like Jesus/Nas wrote the bible.” Here, he is comparing famous
old-school rappers to Jesus and the Bible, which emphasizes the fact that he
idolizes and models his music after theirs, just like people pray to Jesus and study
the Bible. He also says, “I used to print Nas raps and tape’em upon my wall/My n****s thought they was words, but it was pictures I saw.” I think that J.
Cole saw “pictures” in Nas’s lyrics because he saw something deeper about his
words that differentiated them from other rappers. I think that what was
special about Nas was that he often rapped from the heart, which means a more
honest, calm style of rap. Because of that, Nas’s music connected to J. Cole,
which inspired him to follow Nas’s path. Also, J. Cole met Nas once, shook his
hand, but later found out that Nas did not like his new single. Nas said “You
the one, why you make that s**t?” I think this put down J. Cole a lot, but
pushed him forward to keep trying, especially because Nas believes that J. Cole
can become a great rapper.
J.
Cole’s, goal of his rap and career is built around his childhood dreams. His
goal is to rap from his heart, just like Nas and 2pac. “They don’t know, they
just study the charts/Me, I study the shows, the fans, study their hearts.”
That means that he is not looking at other modern, successful rappers. Instead,
he is studying the fans’ hearts, because he wants to connect to the fans in is
music and shows, because that will make his music deeper. “I always believed in
the bigger picture/If I could get them to listen outside my core, I could open
a door.” I think this means if he gets people to listen to his music enough,
they will understand him a lot better, because he is rapping from his heart.
The “door” is two things. It simply means that J. Cole is opening himself up in
his music, so behind the door is his heart and soul. The “door” can also mean
that he is starting to show people the kind of rap he makes, and introduce it
to the modern hip-hop/rap world. So, what is rapping from the heart to J. Cole?
In the song, he says, “Reintroduce them to honesty, show’em that they need
more/The difference between the pretenders and the Kendrick Lamars.” This
demonstrates that J. Cole wants to show fans his heart and honesty, and give
them more than other rappers are. Other current rappers are pretty much just
focusing on drugs, money, and women. Those are the “pretenders” he is talking
about. Kendrick Lamar, a modern rapper, has more sophisticated lyrics in his songs;
more heart.
When
J. Cole talks about the honesty in his music, it means that his music is very
deep, and has better meaning that the fans can connect to. He could rap about
his childhood, relationships, or his views on the world. In most rap/hip-hop
today, most rappers focus on drugs, money, and women. Older rappers
like Nas and 2pac did not rap about this too often, but now they are gone. Can J. Cole
reintroduce the honest music from the heart that 2pac, Nas, and many other
rappers once focused on? He is off to a good start.
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