J. Cole has been hard at work in the studio with 80 or so of his closest friends, cooking up the Revenge Of The Dreamers III compilation for his Dreamville Records, which is set to have a huge breakout in 2019. Apparently, he also spent at least part of that time working on his sixth studio album and the first track, “Middle Child,” is out now. Check it out below.
The song, produced by T-Minus, finds J. Cole reflecting on his position as both younger brother to the preceding generation of hip-hop superstars and as older brother/mentor to the generation coming up behind him. Among other observations, he notes that Kodak Black reminds him of the knuckleheads back home in Fayetteville, while refuting rumors that he has beef with other rappers like Drake.
Ironically, he’s exercised his power as a “big bro” to the younger generation with a sit-down conversation with Lil Pump, who previously traded jabs at him with their songs “F*ck J. Cole” and “1985 (Intro To The Fall Off),” while his appearance on 21 Savage’s new album I Am > I Was was inspired by a late night drive from Fayetteville to Atlanta for a last second recording session. Although J. Cole hasn’t announced his follow-up to KOD yet, he’s already off to a great start.
