J. Cole is playing with fans’ emotions. The Dreamville rapper wiped his Instagram earlier this month, which is usually the telltale sign that an artist is preparing to drop an album and roll out a new era. Cole fans got new Cole music tonight, January 18, but in an unexpected way that will surely just make the ambiguous wait for his next album all the more painful.
Up-and-coming producer Bvtman uploaded “Procrastination (Broke)” to his YouTube page. The three-minute track finds Cole in his bag over a Bvtman beat that he had stumbled upon, as explained in a screenshot of a message presumably written by Cole to Bvtman:
“This song should live on your channel and serve as a thank you to you and every producer out there cooking up and sharing their work with the world. It’s a million artists out there right now just like me, hungry and searching every day for something to spark a word, a melody, a hook, a verse, a punchline, a way to vent, or a way to CUT THROUGH.
On a day when I couldn’t find much motivation, I was looking for anything to inspire me. Out of curiosity, I typed in ‘J. Cole type beat’ into YouTube. Yours was the first I saw. I pressed play, focused, and wrote this.
This is some sh*t that would normally stay in the vault, but I don’t want to hold onto the music like that no more. This is for you and whoever else need to hear it. God bless bro and keep doing what you do!”
Cole’s bars reflect that mindset.
“I write these words aimlessly / But not without hope / That somehow I’ll stumble on somethin’ that’s dope / A clever lil line, a thought to provoke myself,” he raps atop a groovy, infectious beat. Cole expresses dissatisfaction with his habit of losing songs “in the endless folders of the hard drive,” wishing he “was more fearless” and put more music out without considering the reception.
Fans will likely specifically key in on Cole admitting that his earned status and wealth have impacted his artistic urgency: “I still relate to that procrastination for tasks / ‘Cause I need to finish album / But hell, how many more times can I send this wooden pail down in that well / And pull it back up with the hope that it’s filled / Plus, it don’t help that I’m rich now / So that means that I don’t gotta deal.”
Listen to “Procrastination (Broke)” above.
