Before I Disappear

J. Cole “Ville Mentality”

J. Cole’s massive popularity is a fascinating outlier. He’s not much of a celebrity, he doesn’t make a lot of guest appearances, he has no crossover hits, his style is low-key and very off-trend. He’s essentially very successful counter-programming, a current rapper whose music sounds always sounds like it’s from somewhere between 1997 and 2002 – i.e., what would amount to Classic Hip-Hop for people who would presently be in their late 20s to mid 30s. If you just want the Old Kanye, Cole is for you. If you miss conscious rap but feel like Kendrick is too pretentious, Cole is for you. If you can’t connect with Drake or Future, Cole is for you. If you barely even know YG and Young Thug and Lil Uzi Vert, Cole is your dude. But then, Cole is for anyone who likes rap because Cole makes Default Rap music.

This sounds like I’m damning J. Cole with faint praise, but I think he’s a good rapper and a better producer. Cole’s productions tend to be subtle in their details and melancholy in tone, he’s almost entirely uninterested in bangers or anything you could conceivably dance to. He sticks to this very Nas-like lane, and it suits his voice – never convincingly aggressive or sexy, but highly introspective. “Ville Mentality” is a great example of how he and his collaborators – in this case, Elite and Ron Gilmore – frame Cole’s words with music that feels elegant and cinematic. The track signals Seriousness and Importance but backs away from outright pomposity or heavy-handed sentimentality. It comes out sounding quite tasteful, and emotional on its own terms.

Buy it from Amazon.