While two-thirds of rap’s short-lived Big Three – Kendrick Lamar and Drake – are respectively dropping albums and taking legal motion, the remaining one-third (J. Cole, whose commentary on the Big Three is somewhat liable for the direction 2024 has taken in hip-hop) went in a special direction. J. Cole recently released an audio series that details his history and position as one in every of hip-hop’s most iconic and well-known figures. And I have to say that should you are creative in any capability, this series is well definitely worth the price ($10) and listening. The hater in me would say this is the very best $10 I’ve ever spent on a J. Cole project; fall out.

Let me address the light-skinned elephant within the room: I actually have been quite critical of J. Cole throughout his profession. Some of this criticism was valid and a few was not. As a featured artist, I used to be critical of his musical work. I actually have often been unimpressed together with his albums, even though it has at all times been in regards to the production and never the lyrics. J. Cole is and can be one in every of the best possible rappers in the sport. Dot. I actually have been, perhaps unfairly, critical of the reception of J. Cole because the second coming of Nas. I kept joking that I showed up at J. Cole’s party every week later – and after I did, he was anointed the KOZZ and I spent his entire profession trying to hear that in his music. His fans are offended and delusional; an important combination that ensures that Cole will remain an necessary figure in hip-hop for so long as he chooses to participate.

I also want to make it clear that I’m willing to say it out loud: J. Cole is the very best feature artist I actually have ever heard in my life. When I see a song with the words “featuring J. Cole” in it, I do know I’m about to hear a verse so good that I’ll wonder how annoyed the singer of that song was when that verse got here back. His talent is unquestionable, and the introverted J. Cole is a cheat code. I actually consider it. My unfair criticism comes from his fans, but my fair criticism comes from his God-given talent.

Having said all this, I also admitted that J. Cole, as an individual, is one of the crucial interesting artists in hip-hop. I watch every documentary about or made by Cole and at all times come away from each project grateful that he is an artist we will listen to and connect with. I realize that I’m a bundle of contradictions; sue me, I’m human. (Just kidding, Drake; please don’t sue me.)

Cole’s latest attempt to show just how likable, relatable and interesting he is as a rapper and as an individual is his audio series, “Inevitable,” an audio journey that begins together with his beginnings as a rapper and leads through his albums. On the show’s website, the episodes only appear in “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” but I can not imagine him not continuing this on his other albums ultimately.

I remember early Kanye West being an artist that most of us college kids became attached to in hip-hop. Kanye’s highschool dropout formula encapsulated all of the hallmarks of our college experiences, but the reality is that it was J. Cole who truly embodied this ethos (as did Phonte and Pooh from Little Brother and a handful of other rappers and groups like Kids In The Hall). Early episodes feature J. Cole telling his story (together with longtime friend and manager Ibrahim Hamad and director Scott Lazer), including stories about applying to and stepping into college, what it took for his family to make it, financial problems, his early recordings and that famous story about waiting outside the studio to give Jay-Z a record. But it isn’t just the story Cole tells that makes this such an enchanting and galvanizing read; the purpose is that he shares emotions that, even in his stories, still seem as vivid and real as they did then.

Cole is not some industry-made artist given the keys to the dominion, but a child with talent, dreams, and enough delusions (he mentions his delusions early and infrequently) to consider he could make it – and has probably far exceeded even his wildest dreams . The stories behind the creation of his artistic endeavors are great, however the seriousness with which he tells them, sharing where he was in life, especially at first, is so believable. I used to be inspired by his journey and I’m only three episodes in. Not only do I need J. Cole to win (he clearly did and did), but I’m also invested in him winning. This is especially irritating because while listening, you possibly can almost forget that the person you are listening to is one in every of the largest and most successful musical artists in the sport. It’s not guarded or pretentious. He names individuals who helped him and shouts out to them. He keeps his feet firmly on the bottom.

This kinship makes Cole’s journey feel like a journey any of us can take. This doesn’t apply to the streets. This doesn’t mean having to overcome a life stuffed with struggles. It’s a couple of smart, talented kid from North Carolina who has a recognized talent, wants to achieve it, and meets the appropriate individuals who will help them on this journey that they’re all on together even today. Cole’s story could also be “inevitable,” but I feel every creator can and should hear it since it’s an inspirational journey. Above all, it makes you realize that sometimes you only have to keep going; you possibly can develop into the best person in your field.

Perhaps your story is inevitable too.