Nah Mean?

"Shackled and chained in this body with rusted melanin.
They say man was made in the image of God.
So when you grow up black,
Jesus broken up on that cross was just,
a man with cross hairs at his back. "

I'm a young black man.
And therefore,
a target.

It's Warm Out...

This tape is the most ridiculous thing I've had the privilege of hearing recently. I got put on to J. Cole from hearing his name being thrown around with Drake's as a versatile artist - actually the original quote I heard that got me interested was "Drake is like a watered down version of J. Cole..". Personally I think Drake does what he does well, so I had to figure out who this cat was. Long story short, I datpiff'ed it, copped "The Come Up" hosted by DJ Envy, and became a fan after I heard him destroy "Simba", the 2nd track on the tape. He's a Southern rapper with a certain East Coast influence; considering he did 4 years at St. John's in NY that isn't all that hard to believe. And the previous statement holds true; J. Cole is a better lyricist than Drake; however Drake is the better songwriter. But truth be told, ever since I let Comeback Season run its three week long course, I haven't listened to it since. Fast forward to the Warm Up, dude's songwriting has definitely improved; the Come Up just seemed as if he wanted to tear every track he jumped on to shreds, and although he does it on this tape, some of the more subtle, virtually unnoticed shit on the tracks add to the whole experience. My favorite cuts so far have to be Grown Simba, Dreams feat Brandon Hines, (who laces the hook with Cole), and Heartache. Point blank period, download the tape. It's free. To hear it go here:

http://www.imeem.com/jcolemusic/playlist/d01w-kyR/j-cole-the-warm-up-music-playlist/