J. Cole has dropped his first single of the year, a timely and introspective track entitled ‘Snow On Tha Bluff.’ The work feels like a stream of consciousness coming from Cole’s soul. It explores the myriad of emotions and thoughts he’s been feeling over the past weeks. In the verse he praises NoName’s voice behind Black Lives Matter while also offering some self-defense from her criticism and his own additional thoughts. The track includes powerful bars that focus on education for long-term change with Cole rapping “Shit, it’s a reason it took like two hundred years for our ancestors just to get freed/These shackles be lockin’ the mental way more than the physical/I look at freedom like trees, can’t grow a forest like overnight/Hit the ghetto and slowly start plantin’ your seeds/Fuck is the point of you preaching your message to those that already believe what you believe?”
The verse closes poetic and self-aware with,“Ran into this nigga outside of the store yesterday
He said something that had me like “Wait”/He was like “Cole, ‘preciate what you been doin my nigga, that’s real”/ But damn, why I feel faker than Snow on Tha Bluff?/Well maybe ’cause deep down I know I ain’t doing enough.”
‘Snow On Tha Bluff’ is J. Cole at his best. It’s trying to find right direction in unprecedented times. It’s beautiful, painful and insightful. Take a trip into Cole’s mind below.
