LOVE YOURZ- J COLE
To be a successful artist you must be unique. You must stand out stronger than anyone else in the room. You must be recognized. In Hip Hop and rap its most common for the lyrics in a song to be about gangs, girls related as sex objects, money, and drugs. For decades rappers like 2pac and Biggie smalls created a separation of hate and years of gang rivalry all started through rap. Whether its dividing citizens or uniting them in New York city rap and hip hop lie just beneath the heart of the big apple culture. We all know music is a way to connect and even educate some folks? Growing up music was essential to my childhood. Students would repeat lyrics of a new song that came out once their teacher left the class for a couple of minutes, or on the school bus on your way home when everyone began stomping their feet and using their hands as instruments to make the beats. But something they never did was question the lyrics.
Rappers like J Cole created that safe space for everyone growing up. A remarkable message that love overrides any other force. A rapper that’s lyrics is as raw as his experience growing up in North Carolina. His biggest achievement and my personal favorite album of his took place in 2016 when ‘4 your eyes only’ was dropped. It was number one on the billboard 200 charts. It also raked in the third-largest sales weekly for any album released in 2016. A single in this album called “love Yours” is the most emotional and honest song. He talks about how when he was young, he thought success was all he needed. He was chasing this fantasy of happiness but when he attained those things the happiness wasn’t there. Being young all the materialistic things can get into our head, so it’s nice to take a step back and hear someone who was once in our shoes to give you advice. Some of the lyrics he mentions in the song are “ Its beauty in the struggle, ugliness in the success, hear my words or listen to my signal of distress, I grew up in the city and know sometimes we had less. “ To all my men out here living in debt cashing minimal checks turn on the tv and see a man with a Rolex, and fantasize about a life with no stress, I mean this shit sincerely as a man who was once in your shoes living with nothing to lose I hope one day you hear me always going to be a house bigger somewhere but feel me long as the people in that love you dearly you never going to be happy till you love yours. He teaches us that there will always be someone out there that has something better than us but one thing that person will never have is being you. If you cannot love yourself then you cannot appreciate the things coming your way. J Cole structures his raps as if he’s having a therapeutic conversation with you. Although it is rap, he does this amazing way of holding up a soothing tone to create a connection with his viewers. He creates a moment where it’s entertaining but also teachable to real-life situations. We need more artists like j Cole.