I'll Have You Know J Cole is Underrated

By Oore Olayinka on December 16, 2017

Ahem. Ooreos here, about to stun you with mind-blowing facts about why the world cannot get enough of J Cole. Yes, you heard me, J Cole. You see, I am the leader of the Jermaine Lamarr Cole fan club. (You simpletons don’t even know his full name but I, the biggest proudest most obsessed member of his fan club does.) You see, the man is not only a lyrical genius but also an amazing man with an amazing personality. And I’ll show you why.

via Pixabay.com

Jermaine was actually born in Frankfurt, Germany but moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina when he was 8 months old. Uh huh, I know you noticed the established first name basis here. Anyway, back to the facts. His first rise to fame came after his debut mixtape, “The Come Up.” Shortly after that, he became the first rapper to be signed to Jay-Z’s record label, Roc Nation, in 2009. Cole has had three albums rank number one in Billboard 200. And as I always love to yell, “JERMAINE LAMARR COLE WENT PLATINUM WITHOUT NO FEATURES!!!”

Many people on Twitter have critiqued J Cole’s music saying you have to be “an intellectual” to be able to relate to his music. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s false. These critics probably believe this because unlike their favorite rappers, who are mostly college dropouts, J Cole actually graduated college magna cum laude. No shade here, (okay maybe a little shade).

Yup, you read that right, my man J graduated St. John’s University in 2007 with a degree in Communications, and a 3.8-grade point GPA! Maybe that’s why his music has this educated feel. Or why his lyrics have the vibe of a well-written plot. Either way, his lyrics are nothing like the blabber or random word associations that many of today’s mumble artists are known for. He may be intelligent but he still uses everyday words and even hood words to paint pictures that are as clear as day to his listeners. And that, dear friends, makes him gold.

Another reason why Jermaine is underrated is that in my opinion, no one has a love for the kids like he does. No matter how big he gets, he has proven that he will always have love for his young fans. Have you heard the amazing story of how he attended one of his fan’s high school graduation ceremony? Well, a fan called Cierra Bosarge wrote J Cole a letter about how he inspires her to keep working hard in school, even though she has generally had a hard time academically. She then summarized the letter in a tweet to which J Cole responded with a DM and then a phone call. He then agreed to attend her high school graduation giving the ultimatum that he would be there to watch her get her diploma as far as she gained admission to a four-year university.

Check this out. Two years later, he actually took time off his 2013 tour to attend the graduation as promised. Not only did he show up, but he showed up with his favorite books for her as a graduation present and the promise to help her pay her tuition as long as she kept a 4.0 GPA in college. Talk about amazing.

Still, on the issue of Jermaine’s love for his young fans, did you know that 18 days before the release of his platinum album “2014 Forest Hills Drive”, he took the time to appear as a guest teacher at Morehouse College? What he says there is just about the most inspiring thing ever. A student asked him “I want to know how it feels knowing that we look up to you to speak up for us {black people} as a race.” J Cole’s response has to be the most down to earth, most honest and the most real response ever. He said and I quote verbatim, “I am willing to take on the full responsibility. And I remember before I ever had a deal, my mind state was like yo, if I could become in the eyes of like, black youth, if I could become like how Jay-Z is to us, cuz Jay is the coolest guy on the planet to my generation… if I could become that for the positives for this generation then that would have the greatest effect ever.” And when I tell you this simple down to earth response had me tearing up, I mean every word of it.

You see, J Cole is so committed to making a difference among the young people he even has a whole foundation dedicated to it. The Dreamville Foundation was established in 2011. After moving to New York for college and rap, J Cole realized that there were so many opportunities out there that just weren’t available for the youth in his hometown. So, he created the foundation to “bridge the gap between the worlds of opportunity and the urban youth of Fayetteville, NC.” The foundation is the host of many philanthropic programs like a back to school supplies giveaway and a young men’s book club. He even hosts a writing contest in which participants win stipends that help support their dreams. Well, my dream is to one day make enough money to partner with his foundation. That would be the ultimate dream.

Oh, and J Cole is so ahead of his time he’s been speaking on race issues since before the media caught on. There is a list of songs from way back when where my man Cole says the realest things about being black. Have you heard “Problems” where he talks about the black man’s fear of the police? Or what about “Be Free” that speaks on the death of Mike Brown. This one even samples the eyewitness account of Dorian Johnson. Or have you heard “It Won’t Be Long” where he talks about hood life with the mindless killings? J Cole is one of the realest rappers out there but you don’t know it yet.

And the best part about J Cole is, I can never get enough of him. Just when I think my love for him is dying down, I stumble on a new (or more accurately, an extremely old song) by him that just blows my mind. Just last week I stumbled on “Cheer Up” and the lyrics got me so deep in my feelings, I fell in love with him all over again. That’s the Cole effect. If you don’t listen to him, then you dear friend, are missing out on one of the best rappers of all time. Because I can just tell you, J Cole will make waves in history. This is only the beginning.

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