So I broke down and listened to J. Cole's song,
What If, along with a few snippets from some
of the other songs on his new album, The Fall
Off. Look, if you know me, you know that I will
listen to almost anything at least once, as long
as somebody is recommending it to me, even if
I'm not particularly enthused about the artist.
Someone really wants to have a meaningful discussion
about the music because I don't want to be uninformed.
And I do genuinely want to make an attempt to
understand someone else's perspective, their
aesthetic tastes. The only time I will not listen
to an artist is for like ethical reasons. Like
namely, if I think that I'm funding through the
streams or ads, some artists that I find to be
like morally abhorrent, like Drake or, you know,
P Diddy. Um, so yes, I heard some, uh, I at least
heard one of J Cole's song almost all the way
through. Um, I, I, I lied. Uh, I heard large
chunks of it, but I just honestly got too pissed
off at some point. There were a few songs that
I skimmed, um, because, uh, honestly, let's be
honest. I was like more or less, the fall off
was more or less same old J Cole. I want to be
clear about something. Yes, I find J. Cole's
music to be completely uninteresting on multiple
levels, but this is not a music review. If you
like his music, you like his music. Stand on
it. I don't care. Different people connect to
different music, and I won't get on your case
for having your own opinion, even if we disagree.
Our disagreement doesn't mean that you can't
enjoy an artist. Okay. Also, I want to be clear
about something. I'm not doubling back on J.
Cole here because of J. Cole himself. No, it's
actually because of everyone else who listens
to his music and has told me that Cole is deep,
introspective, in touch with his feelings, mature
or something in this vicinity. If you buy that
image that J. Cole is selling, then you and I
need to have a discussion about how you assess
other people. I started this series on how not
to be a bitch because I believed from my own
experience that too many people do not have clarity
in seeing bitches for bitches. If you haven't
been listening to my other episodes, what I mean
by bitch here is someone that... is in the body
of a grown adult, but who has the maturity of
a child. That to me is a bitch. And my concern
is that if you see J. Cole as this deep, introspective,
mature guy, then you don't have a good eye for
seeing people. Because J. Cole to me is clearly
a bitch. He lacks all the things that you say
he has. He's the furthest thing from being mature.
He's a 20 -year -old in a 40 -year -old man's
body. And I think the song What If really demonstrates
my point. I really need to drive this point home
because I personally believe that it is very
difficult to identify a mature grown adult when
you are not that already yourself. Which is why
it is at least important to help people see who...
they should be looking to as a genuine role model
of a mature person. My concern is that if you
think that J. Cole is that mature person, you're
going to be on a path to bitchdom. Why am I talking
about this now? Because honestly, I didn't give
two shits about J. Cole for his entire career.
I never bothered with him. I never paid attention
to him. He was always an afterthought for me,
again, because I didn't connect with his music.
And because I never paid attention to him, I
didn't really have an opinion on who he was as
a person, right? Like, why would I? Like, I don't
even, like, the idea of him as a person or his
music, none of it just ever crosses my mind,
right? I just knew that I found his music to
be the dictionary definition of meh. But since
the battle with Kendrick, I started paying attention
to what he put out there in the world, as I'm
sure a lot of people started paying more attention
because of what went down. And I didn't have
clarity on exactly who he was at first, but I
got the sense that he was a bitch. But I didn't
want, I wouldn't confirm or deny it, at least
in the beginning. After actually listening to
what he says and does in interviews and in his
music, because I've been trying to understand
why people like J. Cole and people will give
me recommendations for things to listen to, it
has become crystal clear to me just how much
of a bitch he is. And so this one is really for
the J. Cole fans out there or people who view
J. Cole in a certain way. that maybe are blinded
by his music or the impression that he gives
off. Look, if he was meaningful, his music was
meaningful for you and moved you and helped you
get through some shit, that's fine. That's what
music is supposed to do. What I want here is
for you to open your fucking eyes without the
blinders of fandom or whatever the hell is going
on and start being honest about who J. Cole is
as a person. based off of at least what he's
thrown out to the public, okay? I hope I can
give you at least some reason to revisit his
work and then see what it is that I'm picking
up on that really clearly demonstrates to me
that J. Cole is a certified bitch, okay? Now,
to be clear, my position here is not grounded
just in this one song, What If. There are plenty
of instances in the past where J. Cole presented
himself to be a passive -aggressive, cowardly
bitch. I'm talking moments when he would sneak
diss other rappers but then deny it or what I
think is a fake apology afterwards, right? We'll
return to this fake apology stuff, I think, at
some point. Or just straight gaslighting people.
He's done this a lot, I think. He's been throwing
rocks and hiding hands for years. But I'm just
using What If, the song What If, as a way to
discuss J. Cole's bitchness because this song
fucking pissed me off. And I think J. Cole needs
to apologize to Biggie and Tupac immediately.
And I'll explain why later. So let's take a look
at what J. Cole is doing in this particular song.
First off, I'm not going to let J. Cole do his
usual, oh, that's not what I was saying bullshit,
okay? I think J. Cole knows exactly what he's
doing. J. Cole does this often with his music
where he uses other people to express how he
feels. But then because it's one removed, there's
like plausible deniability. Yeah, he's a storyteller,
all right. A cowardly one where he usually tells
these stories of, you know, other people instead
of himself. Right? What if it's just another
instance of this? Where he uses a story of someone
he knows. I don't even know if some of these
people are real when he talks about them, but
he uses other people as a mouthpiece to say what
it is that he really wants to say himself. So
What If is just another instance of this. It's
a fan fiction about what might have happened
if Biggie and Tupac got together and talked it
out. heard each other and understood each other
better um hugged it out you know maybe they wouldn't
be dead today he does this by rapping in the
style of each of these iconic rappers again we
could side note is for like those of you who
are interested in you know talking about music
itself um i didn't think he did a good job of
either uh but you know that's up for discussion
like we could talk about it uh i honestly don't
think that this was creative in the least bit
if you think that this This approach, this concept
was creative. I question your taste in music
and your ability to detect what's creative. Look,
this is the first thing from being, furthest
thing from being creative. The entire concept
reeks of some shit a high schooler would have
come up with and then gasses it up as if it was
something really cool and novel and shit, okay?
Like, that's not what this was, all right? But
let's set that aside. What is J. Cole up to here?
It's pretty obvious to me, and I'm not going
to let him get away with it, okay? He's hinting
at his own decision to apologize and drop out
of the battle against Kendrick. What if is his
indirect way of saying what he already said in
Port Antonio? OK, he's trying to say he did what
maybe Biggie and Pac should have done, that he
saw that things are going to get violent like,
you know, it did for them and chose not to go
down that route. Right. He says he always presents
himself as some peacekeeper, doesn't want to
actually be violent, you know, takes jazz, but
they're not meant to be like, you know. actually
violent or scathing and hurtful in some deep
way. He's essentially providing a justification
for his decision not to battle Kendrick. Plain
and simple. That's essentially what he's doing.
What is this then that he's really providing
us? It's an excuse. It's J. Cole's excuse. And
it's a shit excuse. As I've said before, J. Cole
doesn't need to defend his bowing out of the
battle. I don't think he owes anybody an explanation
for that, honestly. I mean, he did give one,
which was fine. He doesn't need to explain himself
for deciding not to battle, okay? I don't know
who it is that's in his inner circle, but whoever
it is, I need them to get this through to him.
I need you to get it through his head. He doesn't
need to make an excuse for or justify his decision
not to battle. I could give two shits about that,
okay? He has his reasons, good or bad. And the
only one that needs to be at peace with those
reasons is honestly him. No one else. Okay? But
his talking about why he didn't battle in this
indirect way tells me that he's hung up on this
shit. Okay? I'm not. He is. Okay? Or maybe the
internet is. And maybe he lives on the internet.
But if that's the case, you need to get off the
internet because the internet is full of some
bullshit. J. Cole, I'm talking directly to you
here right now, okay? Look, don't worry about
the apology or dropping out of the battle, okay?
Here's what I think real men are actually asking
of you, okay? Speak to why the fuck you talk
a big talk, why you continuously sneak diss both
before and after the whole K. Drake battle. That's
what you need to speak on. You need to speak
on the things that you're... you actually need
to be held accountable for. And by held accountable
for, I'm talking about your own words and actions,
right? Look, before the battle, you were taking
a lot of sneaky shots at Kendrick and talking
a lot of big talk about being the best, which
honestly seemed like you were speaking, when
I heard it, I honestly, it sounded like somebody
who was speaking words of affirmation into a
mirror, like some insecure bitch, because I'm
pretty sure no one in hip hop who actually cares
about hip -hop or deep in it saw you at least
a majority probably didn't see you as a goat
of okay nobody thought you were that that guy
okay what your backing out of the battle demanded
was not you know an explanation of your backing
out of the battle right it was You're needing
to take accountability for all the shit you said
before that led up to your being put in that
situation where you had to make an apology. Right?
Look, if you're going to talk big shit and then
not stand on it, then you need to be held accountable
for all that shit talking you've been doing this
whole time. Either acknowledge that you were
full of shit and lying the whole time, which
is what a man would do. Or acknowledge that you
used to think that big shit, but then when push
comes to shove, you realize that you were wrong
and realize that soon enough that you were able
to just drop out of the battle instead of engaging
and then regretting it later, okay? Again, that's
something that a man would do, is acknowledge
the shit, okay? The thing about being a man is
that it doesn't require you to never make mistakes,
right? I think it's a mistake to think that...
Being a man means that you have somehow developed
into the kind of person where you don't ever
make mistakes. Like, no, that's not what it is,
right? It demands that if you screwed up, you
take ownership of your mistakes. You acknowledge
it. You be honest about it and make a genuine
effort to be better. That's what it is to be
a man, right? What makes you a bitch is hiding
from the consequences of your own action. And
that's what you're doing when you're not speaking
on all that shit you were talking before the
beef. Because let's be honest, you were doing
a lot of shit talking. You also need to speak
on all the big shit you're talking after the
beef, right? Look, in the previous episode, I
predicted because, look, I told you from experience,
I know this, right? Like personal experience,
I know this, right? Bitches don't become men
overnight. It takes years of work to learn and
to grow and to really change who you are from
the inside out. I said I didn't expect you to
stop talking all that big talk. And from just
the little snippets that I've heard, yeah, you
continue to talk all that big talk. Okay? Which,
look, here's one other thing. Maybe it'll be
a conversation for the Discord. Look, what the
fuck are you doing talking all that big talk
still in poor thing? All right? That song rings
completely hollow after you dropped out of the
battle. Again, it's about accountability. It's
about integrity. It's about you continuing to
do the same shit talking, talking all that big
talk, except now we know that you aren't going
to back up any of that talk, which honestly,
if I had been paying attention, I would have
known long ago that this is kind of who you were.
Also, why are you picking on someone smaller
than you, you bully? You're talking all this
punk bitch to some dude that is like, not at
the same level as you, let's be honest, right?
And like all bullies, like when you're doing
this, you're just showing your insecurities,
you bitch, okay? If you're going to stand against
someone on the mic, choose a peer, right? Like
just go up against, I don't know, at this point,
your peer seems more like Drake's punk ass, okay?
So to quickly summarize, look, what if is a sad,
indirect, passive -aggressive way to try to justify
your apology and dropping out of the battle?
Something that I honestly didn't need an explanation
or excuse for. But you do so by using Biggie
and Tupac, their situation, as an explanation
for why it was better not to duke it out with
diss tracks, but instead to try to hug it out
instead. And as I've been saying, you're focusing
on the wrong thing because what you need to do
and what you seem to be ducking is... Not the
accountability for the apology. The apology was
fine. It's all the other shit around it that
you have not addressed at all and continue to
not address. That's the lack of accountability
that I'm fucking pissed at. That's what's revealing
what kind of a bitch you are. All this sneak
dissing and big talk about being the best bullshit,
that's what needs to get talked about. The apology
merely exposed you for who you are. That's all
it did. Hopefully it gave people a reason to
start digging into what it is that you actually
say and to really take the time to evaluate what
kind of a person you really are, at least in
what you present in your music. You can start
being honest with yourself and accept it, in
which case all that braggadocious talk needs
to just stop. Or you can just keep trying to
lie to everyone. I don't know. You could go in
either direction. Maybe your fans still rock
with it, but I want to be clear about something.
I ain't no bitch that is going to just accept
your lies. Authenticity matters to me. Authenticity
matters to hip -hop. If you talk shit that you
aren't really about, then you're a bitch in my
eyes. Period. End of story. There's one more
thing that J. Cole needs to take accountability
for, and that's using Tupac and Biggie in this
way. When I heard What If, I was fucking pissed.
I am not sure how others felt, but if you really
love hip -hop, if you were around during the
Tupac -Biggie deaths like I was, then I wouldn't
be surprised if you found yourself feeling at
least a little offended on behalf of these iconic
rappers, right? I wouldn't be surprised if Kendrick
heard this track, got angry, and then recorded
something scathing for J. Cole. This is what
I've realized about J. Cole. His, let's hug it
out, we should be about peace, hey guys, let's
not fight bullshit, shows me that he doesn't
actually understand genuine love and conflict.
For all of you who are on the same boat as J.
Cole in preaching this peacemaker shit in the
way that he does, I'm about to tell you some
shit you really need to think about, okay? I'm
not expecting you to agree. I just want you to
think about this, okay? There is no love without
the fight to protect that love. Love and hate
go hand in hand. There is no such thing as loving
something without hating something else. This
seems to be something that J. Cole doesn't understand.
And this is why I say he's really not that deep.
He doesn't have emotional maturity because he
doesn't seem to understand this point. Look,
I love hip -hop, okay? Which is why I'm out here
crashing out over this shit. I believe in gatekeepers
in hip -hop. Even though I'm not black myself,
I understand I am not the person to be demanding
anything. But if you ask me whether or not I
support there being gatekeepers in hip -hop,
I would say absolutely yes. Why? Because if you
really love something, like if something really
matters to you and you treasure it, you protect
it. And that means that you protect it against
vultures, people who want to take the thing that
you love and twist it or use it for their own
personal gain to make it something that it's
not, okay? You can't be about love if you aren't
also about hate. You need to hate the things
that threaten the things that you love. I love
humanity and love the best of what I see in humanity.
To protect that, I need to jump out and hate
on all the bitch assetry I see that threatens
what is good. If you know anything about Tupac
and Biggie's legacy, yes, it was filled with
contradictions and the things that they rapped
about, but it was also filled with a genuine
love for hip hop and a love for their communities.
And so, also, They're filled with hate, I believe,
against those things that threaten what it is
that they loved. I mean, this is especially true
of Tupac. Tupac was a lot more explicit about
this. Look, because love comes hand in hand with
hate, you cannot truly love something without
engaging in conflict. It is natural. Look, I
love my kid. If someone threatens her in any
way, there will be conflict. I will be throwing
hands if I have to. I will be using whatever
means at my disposal to protect what I love deeply.
Conflict is not the enemy. Conflict is that natural
consequence of love. Here's the thing. You can't
resolve real conflict by hugging it out. I learned
this from my own failures in married life, okay?
Conflicts cannot be resolved by just saying I
love you and hugging it out. That shit is a shallow
understanding of the human condition, of human
emotions, which is why I think J. Cole has the
emotional maturity of a 20 -year -old. And honestly,
that might be giving him too much credit. Real
conflict can only be resolved by unpacking a
whole lot of shit, both between the individuals
involved and within each individual. This whole
bullshit of if only Biggie and Tupac had a heart
-to -heart combo, maybe they'll still be alive
today. It's a whole lot of cap. It would have
taken a lot more to resolve what was going on
between them. And you would know that if you
had grown up yourself, you 40 -year -old bitch.
Some conflicts are big enough that talking it
out... once or sending each other some heartfelt
letter ain't going to do it. Instead, you might
need years of rebuilding a relationship, a broken
relationship. Or in this case, like, I mean,
it required some transformation of an entire
industry to address the conflict. Your shallow
analysis of the situation tells me that you're
a bitch that doesn't understand what it is to
love something deeply. This is why the peacemaker
types, like the way that Cole presents himself,
always pisses me off. It seems like they have
no real understanding of what the conflict is,
where it's coming from, why it exists, why it's
a genuine conflict where the resolution is not
going to be as simple as hugging it out. The
attempt to gloss over it with a, hey, everyone,
let's be all mature here and see the bigger picture,
is what leads to conflicts never truly getting
addressed and instead just simmering underneath
the surface. Maturity requires that you understand
and embrace conflict as a means to something
bigger and better. But only if you walk through
that fire, only if you work through that actual
conflict, you need to deal with the conflict
head on. Saying a few nice things and clearing
up a few misunderstandings doesn't actually address
deep conflicts. For those Cole fans who think
that Cole is deep, I need you to at least consider
what I'm saying here, okay? The shit that Cole
is saying is not deep. It's not introspection.
It's not a reflection of maturity. It's fake
maturity, right? It's a completely inaccurate
portrayal of what love, hate, and conflict really
is, okay? Here's an example for you to ponder,
okay? Have you ever had a real conflict with
somebody that you cared about? Like somebody
who were in a real relationship, like a deep,
committed, romantic relationship, or like a best
friend, right? And you got into a heated fight.
Maybe you felt betrayed by them for some reason
or another. Or you're disappointed by your friend.
Okay? Suppose they come to you and said, like,
hey, let's not fight. I love you. Let's hug it
out. Really think about it. Like, if that was
their response. Do you really feel all that much
better? Do you think whatever led to your feeling
hurt or disappointed won't happen again? Maybe
the first or second time you're like, okay, I'm
going to let it go. Not a big deal. We'll move
on from it, right? But by the third or fourth
time, you're going to start realizing that nothing
underneath the surface was really addressed.
And you'll know this because every time that
similar, something similar happens, you're going
to be thinking about all the other times that
person did that to you. Why is that? It's because
a real conflict. isn't actually addressed. To
address the real conflict, you need to have hard
talks about why you were upset or hurt. You need
to actually have a real heart -to -heart, not
just clear up some misunderstandings. It requires
you to really take some time to empathize with
the other person, even if it's difficult for
you to do because you feel the way that you do.
It requires multiple conversations. It requires
people taking it upon themselves to make real
changes in their lives, which it doesn't happen
overnight. But it'll take multiple instances
of engaging with the other person in a way to
show that you really thought about what it is
that they said and to show that you're truly
sorry. One apology ain't going to cut it for
real conflict. Cole shows zero understanding
of any of this shit. And it's evident by all
his continued big talk that he does afterwards,
after the apology. And it shows in the way that
he has portrayed what happened between Biggie
and Pop. He's fake. He's shallow. He's the guy
that says, let's not fight so that you don't
have to address why it is that people are fighting
in the first place. That's what Cole shows to
me in this track. Finally, Cole needs to apologize
to Biggie and Tupac now. Look, you have no idea
what Biggie and Tupac meant to me. I mean, they're
not on the same level for me personally as much
as figures like DMX and Eminem. I've talked about
this before, about what, you know, hip -hop has
meant for me. But still, I grew up with, you
know, their music. One of the few albums that
I actually bought. I mean, I was broke, so I
had to be picky in what I actually bought or
maybe I would just steal the music. But Biggie's
Life After Death was one of the few albums that
I actually purchased. So, look, all this to say,
I take this shit seriously. Look, you, Cole,
seem to have manipulated history. Or maybe you
didn't actually understand the situation at all.
Which, if that's the case, you need to go study
what actually happened. You who say that you're
a student of hip -hop. Tupac didn't die because
Biggie and Tupac didn't talk it out. That's not
why Tupac died. There were bigger issues at play.
Other players. Industry shit. A whole lot of
other players involved. And Tupac's death wasn't
a result of some back -and -forth raps between...
Tupac and Biggie. Yes, there were some diss tracks
back and forth, but it wasn't because of that.
I mean, the way that you portrayed what happened
between them, it makes me question whether or
not you're really a student of hip -hop, like
you say you are. If so, if you really do understand
the situation, then you just twisted what happened
then to fit your own fucking narrative, you bitch.
The fact that you're even implying that Biggie
and Tupac might still be alive today if they
were just mature enough to step back and talk
it out. It's insulting to both Biggie and Tupac.
It shows just how immature you are, Cole, you
bitch. You do this shit all the time. By using
others in this way as a mouthpiece for you, you're
implying shit that you, I honestly believe this,
you are responsible for implying this shit. Whether
or not you meant it or not, here's what you're
implying. You're implying that if Biggie and
Tupac saw things the way that you did and just
hugged it out, shit wouldn't have gone sideways.
You fucking dumb fuck. All you're showing is
just how immature that you are and how much you
don't carry the spirit of Biggie or Tupac. If
either were alive to hear the shit that you're
saying, they'd probably both slap the shit out
of you, especially Tupac, knowing how he is.
He wouldn't have let that shit slide. Seeing
as how you don't seem to really understand either
of them, you need to apologize for putting out
this piece of shit song. That insults both their
legacies. Make it seem as if all they needed
to do was hug this shit out, as if they didn't
understand that kind of shallow -ass shit that
you're spewing here. Jesus Christ, I'm so fucking
upset right now. I'm going to go listen to Reincarnated
to channel the real spirit of Tupac. I swear,
I hope Kung Fu Kenny pops out and smacks the
shit out of you for doing this to Tupac. J. Cole,
you look more and more like Drake with everything
that you continue to put out. Someone who has
never understood the culture. I mean, I can't
believe I'm saying this. I ain't even black.
I'm the child of two Korean immigrants. Like,
what the fuck is that? Cole, seriously, get your
shit together. And for all you people who want
to tell me that Cole is some deep, introspective,
insightful, thoughtful, emotionally mature person,
I hate to break it to you, but you're way off.
Way off. And just like Drake, time will reveal.
Cole's bitch assetry to the public if it hasn't
already. I just hope that you get ahead of it
because the longer you see Cole as this kind
of a role model for anything or as a reflection
of something deep and insightful and emotionally
mature, the deeper you're going to fall into
this bitch assness. I'm saying this in all honesty.
Don't become a bitch like Cole. Please.