MY TOP 15 FAVORITE J. COLE SONGS, A THREAD:

I did this exact same thread a long time ago, but i thought i may as well do it again since i am a bigger account, and my picks have changed drastically. Remember, these are my FAVORITE, not best from J. Cole. Enjoy

#15- The Climb Back-

Relatively New to Cole’s Catalog, he details how he fell back in love with the rap game, and his experiences/challenges that he fought and overcame to get to this point. Some great storytelling and wordplay makes this track very enjoyable as well.

#14- FRIENDS

On the track from Cole’s most recent project, “KOD,” the song FRIENDS is a track detailing what people go through when they become addicted, what they feel, and as to why they do it. He empathizes and even provides a solution through meditation.

#13-MIDDLE CHILD

MIDDLE CHILD serves as a track of Cole’s revaluation of his position in the rap game, being friends with legends such as Jay-Z and newcomers such as 21 Savage. He empathizes through this track and tries to bring the two generations and bridge them together.

#12- She's Mine Pt. 1

She’s Mine Pt. 1 (not in context of 4YEO) talks about the newfound love that Cole has for his girl, and how he feels around her, explaining that he only wants to do right for her, and the demons that he has and wanting to bond with her. Great Love song.

#11- Is She Gon Pop

Is She Gon Pop is a story about Men who are desperate for Women. It starts with a girl opening up to Cole about her issues with her man being desperate and not worth it. Cole then offers his own perspective on the second verse about how he just (1/2)

works by himself and focuses on getting money, and the Women come to him. Cole tries to teach the listener and offer his introspective on why you should work on yourself and get money, then the women will come to you, rather than chasing them. (2/2)

#10- False Prophets

Being a single before the Coming of Cole’s album, “4 Your Eyez Only,” Cole throws shots at Kanye West and talks about the perception people have of him, and how they hold him on a very high pedestal and explains that it can be a very bad thing (1/3)

to hold people on these pedestals when they do disappoint. He also talks about his friend and fellow rapper, Wale, about how he should not be stressed about the critics and reviews, but rather should enjoy the fact that he can rap and create good music. (2/3)

He then wraps up the track talking about his self, saying that he could fall under this category, but says confidently that he can top his own shit. (3/3)

#9- A Tale of 2 Citiez

Coming from Cole’s regarded Best, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Cole raps from two perspectives. Both are young and try escaping the city each a different way. The first person wants to escape by getting rich by becoming a successful writer, being (1/2)

passive and not indulging in the negatives. While the second one, wants to indulge in the negatives to escape the hood and will do what it takes to escape. At the end, it is revealed that the first person was robbed by the second person. Great storytelling and a banger. (2/2)

#8- Fire Squad

This track is a reassertion of Cole’s Dominance over the rap game and over others in general. He talks about White Privilege and how it is affecting the rap game. He claims to be the greatest, fighting his contestants and being the realest out.

#7- Immortal

Immortal comes from the Perspective of “James McMillian Jr.” from Cole’s Album, “4 Your Eyez Only” as he raps about his drug-dealing career and getting money from it. He talks about being Real, and that his legacy won’t die because of him being this real (1/2)

person. He talks about the prejudice he experiences, and how he is a king of drug dealing that he only sees cash around him. At the end, he says that he won't be heard until he is gone, to then question living and his faith in it. (2/2)

#6- G.O.M.D

Cole is starting to become like a typical rapper at the beginning of this track, making typical music and becoming very arrogant, telling his haters to “Get off his Dick.” In the end, Cole then ends up saying that True love and happiness is all he needs.

#5- Too Deep for the Intro

This track talks about Cole’s upbringing compared to everyone else’s, talking about his life goals, the time he lost his virginity, and his struggles. This track acts as a motivation act as well, telling to listener to reach their goals.

#4- January 28th

January 28th is a self-reflection of Cole, yet again talking about his upbringing and his struggles. He dives into claim that he is the best out and the most real as well as reminisce over his upbringing. He then revaluates that nobody will take over him.

#3- 4 Your Eyez Only

Over this 8-Minute-long track on the final track of “4 Your Eyez Only,” Cole takes the perspective of his friend James yet again, to explain the pain and mis-experiences that he had growing up, involving getting into the wrong crowd and (1/4)

profession as a drug dealer, being poor and the disadvantages of it, and his struggles as a human being to try to want to change for the most part. He also recounts how James wanted to be a better person, but came short and died before he could, as he was on the way to (2/4)

achieve that. James then tries to spend his last moments talking to his daughter through the song, trying to sympathize with her, explaining that he was a failure to her and then vents and prays for her to succeed and just doesn’t want to lose her. Cole then comes in at the (3/4)

end of the track to explain his perspective of the whole mess. He talks to James’s daughter and saying that her dad was a real person all because he simply loved her. A very powerful song with excellent storytelling puts this in my Top 3. (4/4)

#2- Neighbors

Cole paints the picture of how people around him, or the “Neighbors” in this case, are quite toxic and against him, his beliefs, and fame. This song was inspired by an incident at Cole’s studio where he ended up recording most of the “4 Your Eyez Only” (1/3)

called, “The Sheltuh.” He talks about his distrust for the people around him to be that suspicious of his activity of “selling dope,” even though in Cole’s heart and mind, he only has good intentions. He then vents his frustrations, talking about the downs of being (2/3)

a Black Male in this society, being popular, and being distrusted among others, as a result of this occurrence. It makes for an outstanding track and fits almost any type of vibe. Very Replayable as well. (3/3)

#1- Change

Okay okay, if you didn’t see this coming, I don’t know what did. Change is easily his best showcase of Cole’s delivery, flows, hook game, and his beat selection as well as vocals. Cole talks about the concept of “Change” in an individual through yet (1/6)

again, his friend James. He talks about his intuition saying that there’ll be better days, questioning his faith in god, and how when he does good through meditating, he feels better all in the first verse. On the hook, he talks about Change not coming from others, (2/6)

but in due time and from within himself. The second verse talks about how he has a baby on the way, how when people used to hate him in school, and how he’s going to go his hardest from now on. Afterwards, he then fully understands that he must reach a certain level of (3/6)

awareness, called “Christ Conscious,” realizing that money and fame aren’t all that. He then realizes that struggles are meant to happen in order to grow, and stays hopeful, and realizes he then can achieve anything. James then reminisces back to his younger days when (4/6)

doing things such as “Dope Dealing” and participating in gangs, and realizing they are toxic. It then switches to the perspective of Cole witnessing that fact that James has died and was even reported on Live television. The outro reflects the reactions to James' early (5/6)

death in a duality of ways. First is the obvious outpour of emotion from people at the service, then the pain in the black community caught in the cycle of violence, and then the people in James funeral to avenge to yet again, continue the cycle of violence. (6/6)