J. Cole has been quiet doing J. Cole Issues—biking round New York Metropolis, making beats on the seashore, being quietly tremendous wealthy—since WWI popped off earlier this spring, save for a couple of options that had been in all probability already within the chamber, nevertheless it was solely a matter of time earlier than he took to his personal monitor to say his piece on the entire thing. That is what we lastly bought out of the blue tonight with “Port Antonio,” a quintessential Cole track: a moody beat, seemingly produced by Cole himself and sampling traditional ’90s rap (“Lifeless Presidents”), laidback circulation and exquisitely crafted, contemplative bars.
Cole spends the primary a part of “Port Antonio” reflecting on far he is come from the tough upbringing that he muses on typically; the headline-raps are stashed for the final half of the final verse, and they don’t disappoint. He begins off addressing the widespread debate that bowing out of the Drake-Kendrick fracas has lowered his standing, rapping that he is “smirkin at n-ggas tryin to besmirch” his identify and “They see this fireplace in my pen and assume I am dodging smoke.”
From there he says what he kind of mentioned throughout his notorious on-stage retraction: “I would not have misplaced a battle, canine, I might’ve misplaced a bro/I might’ve gained a foe/And all for what?/Simply to realize extra props from strangers who do not know what I been aimin for?”
Cole goes on to snidely touch upon all of the ancillary shenanigans that shortly took the meat past a mere battle to resolve who’s the perfect, and invited in mudslinging, social media pundits pushing narratives, and bots to drive recognition. And from the way in which all of it performed out, he appears much more assured in his choice to remain out of it: “Strains bought crossed, maybe regrettably/My mates went to conflict, I walked away with all they blood on me/Now some will discredit me, attempt to wipe away my pedigree/However please, discover a n-gga out that is rappin this extremely/My dawg texted me, I will share the phrases he mentioned to me/’In the event you refuse to shoot a gun, do not imply the gun ain’t lethal’/I assume in that metaphor, hypothetically the gun is me/I textual content him again like: ‘I assume a gun ain’t what I am tryna be.’”
