Cole World Real Cole World

Image from Vibe.com

Say what you want about J Coles album leaking... that "he sold out" or "where's the soulful beats" or "where's the monster lyrics"...blah blah blah. Here is something I have come to understand, the music business is just that a BUSINESS!  Cole gave us "The Come Up" "The Warm Up" and "Friday Night Lights" for FREE! All 3 mixtapes could be deemed albums since they are that good...so yeah maybe he has to play by the labels rules a little bit to get his album out and yeah he is not a Godzilla on the mic this time around like he was on the mixtapes...but to be honest it's still better then 85% of mainstream music out right now. I'm not saying that he gets a pass because of this...I mean yeah it could have more of the mixtape vibe to it...but now is the time for J Cole to eat...he has to make the money back the label put into him. It sucks but from what I've seen this is how the game goes...so basically he plays the game so we can get a sophomore album and more free mixtapes in between ya dig...it's sucks but business is business! We allowed this to happen in my opinion we steal so much music that the labels can't tell if people are feeling a particular artist. SoundScan says 200,000 sold but what about the 300,000 downloaded illegally.

All I'm saying is this, "Cole World" may not be what I expected but I don't want J Cole to fade away like MJ in crunch time... so I'll support... 3 free mixtapes that are heat rocks! and an album that is not what I'm use to but is still dope on certain levels I'll take that (for now)... most of us don't know what it's like to be signed to a MAJOR label... not saying dumbing down is OK but hey it is what it is. What other artist do you know right now that gives out as much free music as J Cole has thus far. I felt like it was a crime to put J Coles last 3 mixtapes out for free. I def would have coughed up that good $10 to purchase them. All that to say this, support the kid because if his album flops (per SoundScan and label standards) there won't be a second album or free mixtapes in between...just sayin.

J.Cole feat. Missy enjoy!

- Ernest Ivory
  Don't Trip Just Grow