J Cole Essay

Throughout hip-hop music history, artists have developed methods in which they express true meanings and portray meaningful messages embedded in their work. Some artists being better at it than others, they share personal experiences, teach valuable life lessons, and create a melodious piece of art in just a matter of minutes. On account of the various styles and subgenres in rap music today, these specific factors fall under the category of lyrical rap. Rap music has changed tremendously over the last 20 years, but lyrical rap has stayed true to its purpose. From retired lyrical genius Eminem, to current rappers such as J. Cole, the lyrical rap genre lives on. Many new artists release songs with little significant meaning, and lyrics that

are almost impossible to decipher. Higher-level rappers are calling this “mumble rap,” evidently because you can’t understand much more than five words per minute. Lyrical rap artists do much more than just rhyme some words together to make them sound appealing. They undertake in-depth analysis of world problems and events, then create poetic music that has listeners on their toes trying to grasp the artist’s main point.
There’s no arguing the fact that rap music is a form of poetry. All great poets compose a deeper meaning in their poems, and lyrical rap artists do the same within their songs. Take Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” for example. He explains a simple, childish story about a man walking in the woods, having to choose between two paths. It takes on the concept of decision making and how every choice made affects our life in one way or another. Evidently, Frost does not just tell us these life lessons; he demonstrates a man making a simple, heads or tails decision that ended up making all the difference. My point being, rap artists and poets both mask a true meaning in their art that is not always easy to catch; it is the audiences job to read between the lines and understand it. A prime example of how lyrics have a special meaning can come from rap legend, Eminem, in his most famous song, “Lose Yourself.” This song illustrates an important, widely known lesson: take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. The overall message is described in the first line, which he speaks to his fans in a calm and direct manor in order to portray the significance: “Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity/ to seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment/ would you capture it or just let it slip?” This first line represents Eminem’s mindset at the time and how he went about life, making the most of every opportunity. He has one shot to get his voice heard and he is going to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Along with sending a message and sharing a story with his fans, Eminem’s cleverness is just astounding. Note the contradicting words in this line: “…he’s so stagnant, he knows/ when he goes back to this mobile home, that’s when it’s back to the lab again, yo!” The only thing keeping him from moving forward in life is his run down trailer home, a portable house designed for easy movement: his “mobile home” is keeping him “stagnant.” The last phrase, ‘back to the lab again,’ reflects on a previous verse in the song which he shared a central moment in his life: “…he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud, he opens his mouth but the words won’t come out…” Eminem choked up during a rap battle, leaving him speechless in front of an ill-mannered, abusive crowd. But staying true to the song’s meaning, he went back to his trailer home to write down more lyrics for a comeback. As if it’s not already apparent that Eminem’s lyrics are genuinely meaningful, there is another line I interpreted to be quite crucial: “His soul’s escaping through this hole that is gaping.” He refers to the fact that his lyrics are coming straight from the soul and nowhere else. This line is also a lesson for his audience saying that you too, should speak straight from the heart and soul; that’s where the most genuine thoughts and ideas are going to come from. Eminem’s glory days are over, but there may be a few lyrical geniuses left to keep the rap game up to par.
Despite the many new artists butchering rap music, a handful of old-school style rappers producing meaningful music still remain.

The most insightful and perhaps the most listened to lyrical rapper today goes by the name of Jermaine Cole or, better known, J. Cole. The hopeful and inspiring rapper from Lafayette, North Carolina, raps mainly about his previous struggles at home and his eventual rise into the rap game. With all the aspiring rappers out there, J. Cole produces a great deal of his music to influence them and show them that anything is possible as long as they put their mind to it. Seeing as J. Cole was once in their position, he relates to and speaks to his audience with ease. One song J. Cole connects’ well with his audience is “Crooked Smile,” a song from his 2013 album Born Sinner. He goes in great depth in this song to explain to his fans not to worry about their imperfections; everybody has them they’re not holding anyone back. The song’s message is summarized in this brief couple of lines: “A perfect smile is more appealing but it’s funny how, my shit is crooked at how far I done got without it/ I keep my twisted grill just to show the kids it’s real, we ain’t picture perfect but we worth the picture still.” As simple as this line may seem, it says so much more than meets the eye. Cole teaches the younger generation to love themselves for who they are; don’t worry about unnecessary stuff like crooked teeth. Clearly it did not stop him from becoming

successful, so why should it stop you? It’s very rare to find meaningful lyrics like these in today’s rap music.
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Cole is aware that he’s superior to the new rappers, mainly because of his genius lyrics. So, in spite of the overhype and attention new rappers are getting, J. Cole decided to address the situation by releasing his new single “everybody dies.” The first verse begins with a line hinting at the reason for the out-of-the-blue song: “Look, It’s the return of the Mr. Burn Suckers.” Contradicting his other nickname, “Mr. Nice Watch,” J. Cole goes with ‘Mr. Burn Suckers’ because he is about to burn, or diss, the sucker rappers that he feels have changed the rap game. Perhaps the most pivotal line in this song is one in which he takes shots at “mumble rappers” Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, and Kodak Black. The hateful line reads as such: “The would-you-take-a-break-please rappers/ Bunch of words ain’t sayin’ shit, I hate these rappers/ Especially the amateur eight week rappers/ Lil’ whatever- just another short bus rapper.” This line accurately depicts what the rap scene has come to in the recent years, especially when he mentions that their words ‘ain’t sayin shit.’ A common theme in the songs these rappers have produced is their low vocabulary, blended together with their incomprehensible voices. This form of music is destroying the, once praised, genre of rap. These new artists are the only reason why some rappers are considered ‘lyrical’. Since their lyrics are meaningless and, for the most part, obnoxious, the lyrical rap genre had to be created for the artists who still

produce quality, meaningful music. Rap music originated as a form of poetry, and if it weren’t for the new artists changing the game, it would still be respected as such.
Prior to the mid-2000s, all forms of rap music were lyrical and purposeful. It was not until about a decade ago when the next generation of rap artists came in and switched it up a bit. Rap music is just not what it used to be; the lyrics are repetitive and the verses are written carelessly with no significance. One of the most popular ‘mumble rappers’ is Lil Uzi Vert, who definitely lives up to the stereotype. Not only is he extremely difficult to understand, his lyrics are just absolute trash, rapping mainly about how much money he has and all the girls he gets. Both aspects of his rap persona are present in these few lines: “Go to strip club, make it rain/ so much money they use rakes/ count 100 thousand in your face, then I put 300 right in the safe/ Met her today, she talk to me like she knew me/ Go to sleep in a Jacuzzi, wakin’ up right to a two-piece.” ….… come again? These lyrics are so meaningless that even Rap Genius, a website designed to explain rap lyrics, had nothing to say about this verse. They literally couldn’t think of anything that these words may represent. Lyrics like this are exactly what J. Cole was referring to when he said they ‘ain’t sayin shit.’ In the direction rap music is going, it’s only a matter of time before this is what is expected from all rappers.
The universal image of rap music is becoming something that the older-generation artists would consider to be disgraceful. The concept of lyrical rap is slowly fading away and being replaced with a horrendous genre referred to as mumble rap. In reality, this is completely disrespectful to the original rappers who created music with a sole purpose. The main purpose mumble rappers produce music is to get rich and have all the women they desire. The rap industry has almost become an occupation, where rappers may or may not get a job. Producing rap music is an area of expertise and well-respected art, and by the looks of it many people do not see it like that anymore.