As I’m writing to this, I am listening to John Legend’s new Darkness & Light album, like all things John Legend, it’s a soothing masterpiece.
But like most folks, the news today is the two unannounced J Cole songs that dropped this morning by way of his Eyez, Tidal-exclusive documentary, False Prophets (Be Like This) & Everybody Dies. The news is not in so much that he dropped two unannounced songs, because it was announced the day before that he was going to release his album on December 4, 2016, 4 Your Eyez Only. The surprise was the subject matter of the songs.
On False Prophets he seems to be taking shots at Kanye West. And even though some folks on Twitter are of the idea that it’s just an honest observation of what Kanye is going through, I am calling bullshit on that assessment and calling it how I see it, a diss at Kanye.
I grew up on Kanye West. From College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, to my favourite Kanye West album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. And then he made Watch the Throne with Jay Z. In my young eyes Kanye couldn’t do any wrong. During the Taylor Swift episode, I felt he was unfairly crucified. I didn’t necessarily feel Beyoncé had the best video of all time, the Stan in me just knew that my man Kanye was getting the bad end of the stick. I felt the media overplayed the big black guy invading the space of the little, innocent white snowflake. And I still feel that way.
Then Kanye got into a relationship with Kim Kardashian. He lost points in my book for that move. Fuck, we are too emotionally invested in our celebrities. This is fucking crazy. But, yeah, whatever, he lost points in my book for that. But I was still going gaga when he said he should have gotten Jay Z to get Kris Humphries dropped from the Brooklyn Nets(which Jay Z was a minority owner of at the time) on Cold. But I was bumping to that song like, ‘yeah, yeah, talk that shit, Ye!’
Fast forward, Kim & Kanye get married. Then Yeezus dropped. I don’t quite recall the exact sequence of events, but I don’t care anymore to look it up. But it was during the Yeezus radio-promotion tour that I started looking at Kanye like, ‘this motherfucker!’ There was the ‘you ain’t got all the answers, Sway’ interview, and the ‘Kanye Kardashian’ one with The Breakfast Club. I thought this nigga Kanye was a cry baby, contradictory, blabbering about nothing, and just making noise; while people called him genius. I used to wonder that I was stupid for not seeing the man’s genius. Nah, bih, I ain’t stupid. And as much as the fake deeps tried to explain the genius of his Yeezus album, I, to this day think it is trash.
So, when I heard Real Friends, I swore I thought, fuck this that old Kanye. I really thought homie was about to shut my hating ass down. Nah, how was I wrong. The Life of Pablo was just blonde Yeezus that grew up around money. Blonde Yeezus was well polished and could come around people and fool them without saying a word by just how she’s dressed, how she holds her utensils, or her glass of champagne.
Then he ranted on the MTV stage about how he was going to run for president in 2020. I recall @Luvvie tweeted about how the Kanye-Hive was going to try to write think pieces about how his rant makes him a genius. Again, Kanye was just talking stupid. I couldn’t really make out what it is he was saying, or trying to say. Then he went on a Twitter rant about being in debt and wanting Mark Zuckerberg bail him out, and how he should fund his ideas for making the world better. That he should stop building schools in Africa and fund Kanye West ideas. My nigga, what level of entitlement is that? Like damn, son, get a hold of yourself. Fuck you, Kanye!
The last straw was when this nigga said he would have voted for Trump, and that black people should stop focusing on race too much ‘cause it’s a racist world. And that we should just accept it. Nah, Kanye, just like you ain’t accept it when white man didn’t want you to have a seat at the world of fashion table, we are not going to accept this racist world. We ain’t gonn’ let that shit fly, Kanye, and to all you motherfucking racists. Homie kept ranting about how Jay Z should give him a call. Then had the audacity to call out Beyonce ‘cause she apparently she plotted to win a Moonman for video of the year over him, and his obsession, Drake; after going through seven years of the Taylor Swift debacle for her. Alright, cool, Kanye, but as far as we know, Beyoncé ain’t asked you to do that. C’mon, dawg, stop whining all the goddamn time, and grow some balls.
Is Kanye really sick? I hope not. Is it him losing his mom? Maybe. I haven’t lost either of my parents yet, so I don’t know how it feels, but the thought of losing my mom is a scary one in itself. But it all started going downhill when his mom passed away. Or did he check himself into hospital for insurers to cover for the losses for the cancelled Saint Pablo Tour’s remaining days? If that’s the case, then maybe nigga really is a genius… of some kind. The conning kind.
I don’t know what it is, Kanye, but get it together, my nigga. You’s a father of a black boy now. That class warfare you be fighting against lately won’t be enough to save him from the juggernaut that’s the race warfare. ‘Cause really, I have had it up to here with your false prophecy. Going from “I get down for my grandfather, who took my mama/ Made her sit in that seat where white folks ain’t want us to eat/ at the tender age of 6 she was arrested for the sit-ins” to ‘black people should stop focusing on race?’ From ‘George Bush don’t like black people’ to ‘I would have voted for Trump?’ Fuck you, Kanye!
The other subject matter of Cole’s False Prophets was Wale. He’s rapper homie who wants to win bad that he can’t even see his blessings, and the millions of fans he’s got. In a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, I watched Wale nag about how Kendrick Lamar doesn’t call him no more. Wale nags so much he needs to stop it. Thank you, Cole for giving Wale the breastfeeding bottle by reminding him that he is the fucking man. Wale’s Ambition is still one of the greatest Hip Hop records that ever came out. And this man is constantly putting out bangers.
On Everybody Dies, Cole takes us back to Muhammad crib. But while at Muhammad crib, Cole just couldn’t help himself. He had to take a shot at this new breed of lil’ whatever rappers. These motherfuckers we don’t understand half of the shit they spitting, but we be vibing out to. I especially got hate for Lil Yatchy that thinks The Notorious-motherfucking-BIG is overrated. Like who letting these unschooled rappers graduate into the bigger leagues? We see you Pitchfork! You and your white staff of writers need to stop with hipster shit. You new gatekeepers, AKA white publications are hurting the genre of Hip Hop.
Yeah, I’m fucking Joe Jackson-mad at Kanye West. But that’s beside the point. Get well, my nigga. J Cole proves again just how big his star is getting, yet remaining true to himself. Still the same Friday Night Lights Cole. Wale, listen to Cole, man. Yeah, maybe he should have called you instead of airing it out a song, but I hope you hear your homie’s concerns and take it from there. I know you still got that ambition. And to you new wave mumble rappers, you’re fucking shit up. Rap used to be ‘listen and digest’, make you think, but this new wave shit is just for in one ear, out the other.
Still listening to Darkness & Light, and my man John Legend is still the fucking man. I give this album a solid 4/5.
edwardmekondjo 