j. cole

I’m a day late and a dollar short on this one but I’m digging it so it gets a late post on B&B. I have heard this song before without Bobby Ray on it but I guess this is the finished version to it with him on the chorus. The beat by Jim Jonsin has a bouncing piano loop which makes the artists sound like they are enjoying weaving their rhymes over the simplicity of it. No word if this from any project but it seems to me that it will be another one off.

Download: J. Cole ft. B.o.B – “Pass Me By” (Prod. Jim Jonsin)

“Leave Me Alone” is the perfect song to relax to if you are having a bad day at work. The song recounts situations where you end up feeling that you want to be left alone and J. Cole incorporates some great storytelling in his verses. The bouncing piano riff gives the song a playful vibe despite the hardships described and the chorus, sung by Kevin Cossum, reminds us of the frustrations of every day life from the first line of “I just can’t this shit anymore”. This makes me regret even more that I still haven’t listened to Friday Night Lights which is a major fail on my part.

Download: J. Cole ft. Kevin Cossum – “Leave Me Alone”

We posted a lot from the Friday Night Lights mixtape; however, we overlooked “Too Deep for the Into”, which I feel is one of the better tracks on the tape.  J. Cole showcases his production and rhyming skills on the track as he incorporates what seems to be an Erykah Badu sample and a very mellow, laid-back beat.  Cole’s rhymes flow smoothly with the beat of the track and hits hard with rhymes that are legit “deep”, from growing up around signs of violence and poverty and then various other experiences throughout his come up.  This tape was a great prelude to Cole World and really showed why he’s one of the best up-and-comers in the game.

Download: J. Cole – “Too Deep for the Intro”

Going by the slow download speed, the constant crashing of J. Cole’s site and the fact that this mixtape was the second highest trending topic on Google today, things are looking as good as ever for the Roc Nation signee. At 19 songs (20 if you count “Looking For Trouble“, the bonus track), Friday Night Lights offers plenty to digest, and going by the strength of the leaks, this will be one tape that will stay on my heavy rotation for a solid minute. I’m not even going to bother speculating on Cole’s commercial future, because there is quality (free) music to be heard and I don’t want to ruin the mood with shop talk. Download here.

Sidenote: Speaking of Roc Nation, Jay Electronica is now on board. Eat it, Diddy.

The internets have been waiting on this for a long time, and now we finally get ourselves a Drake/J. Cole collaboration. And yes, it does live up to its expectations. Off of Friday Nights Lights, set to drop tomorrow, “In The Morning” showcases J. Cole and Drake trading off about love, sex, and all those fine things. The subject matter plays greatly to Drake’s favor, but Cole does not lag behind in the slightest. Drake takes a more lustful approach to the track while Cole is more direct, and both approaches work extremely well.

Download: J. Cole – “In The Morning” feat. Drake

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These two kill this leak off of Cole’s upcoming project Friday Night Lights. J. Cole comes out the gate swinging with two verses which I’m going to have to run through again and then Wale murders the final one with his often underrated wordplay and it is all on a song for the ladies! I also have to mention again that Cole’s production has stepped up even more and is easily the most underrated aspect of the Roc Nation signee. The last song to leak from the project, “Before I’m Gone”, never made up on B&B so I’m going to include the download for both below the break. Friday Night Lights drops this Friday, which makes me feel dumb having to type that.

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In a lapse of hip-hop knowledge, I almost forgot that J. Cole is releasing his latest project called Friday Night Lights this Friday. To prep us for his latest effort we have this joint which didn’t make the cut for the tape, however,  judging by the sound and rhymes it easily could have been on it. Everyone deservedly talks about J.’s lyrics but I think that hype often overshadows his beat making abilities. The dude straight rips it and he could probably be making tracks for other artists if he wasn’t so busy with his own career. Grab the song at the link below and check out for that project his Friday.

Download: J. Cole – “Purple Rain”

It’s pretty safe to say it isn’t Friday anymore, but here is the latest installment of Ye’s series anyways. “Looking For Trouble” is the first Kanye track to feature J. Cole which is sure to make more than a few people happy. The drums on this come to life and match the energy in the sample. Cole fits perfectly into this line-up, matching and exceeding the famed arrogance of each rapper here. Big Sean pulls out the double-time flow, but points go to Pusha and J Cole for bookending this song with some truly mean verses.

Download: Kanye West – “Looking For Trouble”

This one dropped maybe a day or two ago. It doesn’t look like anyone is really sure where “I’m On It” falls in the Cole catalog (some say this could be off his upcoming mixtape, whenever that drops), so label this one as a loose-end. It’s as a good as you’d expect a loose-end track would be, possibly a bit better. “I’m On It” isn’t on the same level as some of J Cole’s more recent smashes like “Bun B For President” or “Villematic”, nor does it really go anywhere lyrically, but it will have you nodding your head nonetheless. If anything, I’ll give Cole a point for riding the triplet rhythm well. Meh.

Download: J. Cole – “I’m On It”

Two of my favorite young lyricists join up for a relaxing jam produced by none other than J. Cole himself. The song utilizes a jazzy keyboard loop and horns to create a Tribe meets Roots beat that works as well now as it would have 10 years ago. I had never listened to Omen before this song but he brings some bars as is necessary when you collab with these two wordsmiths. “Relaxation” looks to be a one off single but it would have deserved to make any mixtape or even album.

Download: J. Cole ft. Omen & Fashawn – “Relaxation”