J. Cole shows why having a humble soul exudes more confidence than your typical flashy rapper
J. Cole recently stated in a interview that throughout the years he removed the “competition” aspect from competing with longtime colleagues Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Some people can view this as that he accepted being the “worst” artist among those three. However, I view his statement and his explanation about it in a different way than most.
He mentioned that they are among the few he can really relate to and hold deeper conversations with due to similar experiences. Personally, I can relate to this because, I too, work in a career field where competition is heavy. I boost a similar resume to some of my colleagues but I might get more praise or less praise than them. Regardless, It’s not going to stop me from being their friend.
TBH it brings me closer to them. We can talk about our cond and strengthen it similar to Cole with his peers because we are often grouped as such. Why beef with my friends when we can have healthy competition and motivate each other to grow bigger with each other? Now apply this to Cole, Lamar, and Drake.
Throughout the past 12-13 years, those three have elevated hip hop to levels of international acclaim that might never be touched again. They’re each one of a kind and naturally have fan bases that pit them against each other. So why hate each other when it can only lead to negative outcomes? Yes, I remember Kendrick’s “Control” freestyle but he wasn’t being hostile. It was more of a call out for a friendly competition.
Why eat of each other plates when you can run up the score and eat together?
Cole might be onto something that is long forgotten in today’s society, being okay with your current reality
As in my previous paragraph, I noted an emphasis on unnecessary competition. As people we look to constantly outwork our colleagues. Sometimes it can be a great thing but it can also lead to burnout. We start questioning are motives and purpose. As people we can focus on the next man or woman so much we forget to love ourselves.
What I mean by loving ourselves is putting in work not to impress others or live up to their expectations but to live up to our own. Our destiny is in our hands at the end of the day and J. Cole is a example of this ideal. He’s not making music to be better than everybody else anybody but to be the best version of himself. Thus leading to a more happier and fulfilled version of J. Cole people love in 2021. Heck even Drake shares similar feelings, I.E. his interview with Tidal below.
Kendrick himself moves to the beat out his own accord and shows that while those three might have a buddy buddy competition it’s never as antagonistic as social media can make it to be. At the end of the day those three will go down history as some of the best rappers of all time. J. Cole and those three have learned the art of acceptance, it’s okay to not pursue what others want if it doesn’t being you joy.
Being a J. Cole stan, I can say the fanbase does a toxic job of trying to persuade people of his greatness instead of letting it breathe among his peers. He himself stripped the competition away from his relationship among the three so it’s time to relax and enjoy their music. We will never know if and when if they decide to retire so let’s enjoy them while they’re making music.
