thelesterlee
“Your second shit put niggas to sleep but they gassed it”, J. Cole says on 7 Minute Drill, his response to Kendrick Lamar’s recent diss on Future’s latest album. The irony. The lack of self-awareness.
J. Cole just NOW started making interesting music.
Before linking up with guys like J.I.D and Earthgang—rappers far more captivating and creative—Cole’s music could be used to cure insomnia.
Cole only recently started making dynamic music with genuine replay value and it’s mainly the result of absorbing other rappers’ energy like a Dragonball Z villain. The J. Cole who made ‘Let Nas Down’ was not capable of making a fun song like The London with Young Thug and Travis Scott.
He used to tell the same lame, boring stories about some girl in middle school not wanting to hold his hand or whatever the fuck and r/hiphopheads turned him into a legend of the suburbs.
But that was then and this is now.
Cole is no longer the geek wondering why his elementary school girlfriend dumped him. He’s a confident asshole who wants war with Kendrick and I’m not sure lines like “I drove to CVS, copped a Plan B and I watched as she swallowed, bitch, I kid you not” are enough in this duel.
To say To Pimp a Butterfly put niggas to sleep at the end of an entire album dedicated to the man who made TPAB isn’t the haymaker I think J. Cole believed it was.
7 Minute Drill is 3 minutes long.
A lot of hot takes are going to come out of this track. I already see Cole stans running with the “four albums in 12 years” line like it’s indicative of some character flaw Kendrick possesses when in reality, it’s a reminder of the quality of music an artist can create when they take their time.
On the other side, folks will act like this is the wackest diss track of all time because Cole didn’t decide to go mask off and air out a guy he continuously says he respects. He has a line about shedding a tear shooting at him like Nino Brown did G-Money. We were never getting a Pusha T Surgical Summer-esque diss from Cole about K-Dot.
It’s a cool song. It served its purpose.
Honestly, it would’ve been strange if Cole really snapped at Kendrick considering it’s clear as day that Kendrick’s beef is with Drake.
On Family Ties, Kendrick starts a verse by saying he’s “smoking on your top five” and then ends the song saying “Stop playin’, I’m that guy. Number two DM’ing my bitch, That’s cool, I don’t ask why”. Kendrick Lamar and Drake have developed a genuinely personal beef and Cole caught a stray from simply standing next to the wrong body.
And then he made a 43-minute album in response. Ok.
For people who like all this messy rap stuff, Might Delete Later is right up their alley. We beg rappers to respond, so we should also appreciate when they do. Did it need to be an entire mixtape? Nah. BIG NO, actually.
But I mean shit, it made me write my first full album review in years. It’s provocative, it gets the people going.
Best Tracks
Pricey (featuring Ari Lennox, Young Dro and Gucci Mane): This is the best J. Cole rapping the entire album. He’s really talking on Pricey like, way more than 7 Minute Drill to me. I will also admit I’m all in on any track where Gucci sneaks in with his little chanting voice. Track 1 is the most important and Cole knocked it out.
“Breakin’ news, I’ve officially entered my prime, Which is real interesting, this is the point where a rapper would typically start to decline”
7 Minute Drill: As I mentioned earlier, it certainly served its purpose. Word.
Pi (featuring Daylyt and Ab-Soul): Cute little move putting Ab-Soul on a Kendrick diss tape. I feel like Kendrick hasn’t talked to the rest of Black Hippy in years but it’s the thought that counts here. As far as the actual record goes, I’m a sucker for rappers going back and forth and even finishing each other’s bars. When you grow up on Run DMC and Beastie Boys, you are conditioned to believe this is impressive songwriting. Pi also has one of the only interesting beats on the entire tape. The beat made Daylyt sound good. I rest my case.
Worst Tracks
Fever: Uh, did J. Cole think he could sneak in this corny ass love song? We all have magnifying glasses, sifting through all of his words for the hint of a Kendrick Lamar subliminal and Fever randomly pops up. Fever is what happens when a dork tries to make One Dance with significantly fewer resources and zero complex thoughts about women.
H.Y.B (featuring Bas and Central Cee): Central Cee kills his feature but he couldn’t say a song where at one point, J. Cole just uh, says the alphabet for no reason. Bas sings the hook on this which is easily the worst decision on this whole project. If I’m Central Cee, I’m finding a way to get my verse removed from whatever this is.
3/5 stars.
Is J Cole Might Delete Later a good enough response to Kendrick? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know your thoughts on J Cole Might Delete Later
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