Just yesterday (December 1), we learned that J. Cole is set to release his fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only next week. Then last night, the rapper dropped a video documentary titled Eyez, previewing some new tracks from the upcoming album — including one that seems to go in pretty hard on Kanye West and Drake.
On a track called "False Prophets," he raps about an unnamed star's fall from grace. As pointed out by Miss Info, Cole spits: "Ego in charge of every move, he's a star / And we can't look away due to the days when he caught our hearts / He's falling apart but we deny it/ Justifying the half-assed shit he drop, we always buy it."
"He tell us he a genius but it's clearer lately/ It's been hard for him to look into the mirror lately," he continues.
He never specifically names West, but given the rapper's recent erratic behaviour — including voicing his Trump support and going on rants against Hillary Clinton, Jay Z and Beyoncé — it's understandable that people are assuming the track is about Yeezy. West has since cancelled his upcoming tour dates and was being treated at a Los Angeles hospital until his release earlier this week.
The full lyrics read:
Life is a balance/ You lose your grip you could slip into an abyss / No doubt, you see these niggas trippin' / Ego in charge of every move, he's a star / And we can't look away due to the days when he caught our hearts / He's falling apart but we deny it / Justifying the half-assed shit he drop, we always buy it
When he tell us he a genius but it's clearer lately / It's been hard for him to look into the mirror lately / There was a time when this nigga was my hero maybe / That's the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take / 'Cause I believed him when he said his shit was purer and he the type of nigga swear he real but all around is fake
The women, the dickriders, you know, the yes men/ Nobody with the balls to say something to contest him / So it grows out of control/ Until the person that he truly was all along is starting to show
As if that wouldn't stir up enough drama, Cole follows the digs at 'Ye with some thinly veiled shots at rappers that use ghostwriters — which many have been quick to interpret as a diss directed at Drake.
"Wonder what happened / Maybe it's my fault for idolizing niggas based off the words that they be rappin'," Cole raps. "But come to find out these niggas don't even write they own shit / Hear some new style bubbling up then they bite that shit."
Drake was famously at the centre of hip-hop's biggest beef last year, after Meek Mill accused the Toronto rapper of using ghostwriters. Additionally, Sean Paul called out Drake and Justin Bieber for their appropriative takes on dancehall music earlier this year.
"False Prophets" can be previewed in the aforementioned Eyez documentary. Tidal subscribers can look for it in the player below at the 30:40 mark.
4 Your Eyez Only is due out on December 9 through Dreamville/Roc Nation.
On a track called "False Prophets," he raps about an unnamed star's fall from grace. As pointed out by Miss Info, Cole spits: "Ego in charge of every move, he's a star / And we can't look away due to the days when he caught our hearts / He's falling apart but we deny it/ Justifying the half-assed shit he drop, we always buy it."
"He tell us he a genius but it's clearer lately/ It's been hard for him to look into the mirror lately," he continues.
He never specifically names West, but given the rapper's recent erratic behaviour — including voicing his Trump support and going on rants against Hillary Clinton, Jay Z and Beyoncé — it's understandable that people are assuming the track is about Yeezy. West has since cancelled his upcoming tour dates and was being treated at a Los Angeles hospital until his release earlier this week.
The full lyrics read:
Life is a balance/ You lose your grip you could slip into an abyss / No doubt, you see these niggas trippin' / Ego in charge of every move, he's a star / And we can't look away due to the days when he caught our hearts / He's falling apart but we deny it / Justifying the half-assed shit he drop, we always buy it
When he tell us he a genius but it's clearer lately / It's been hard for him to look into the mirror lately / There was a time when this nigga was my hero maybe / That's the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take / 'Cause I believed him when he said his shit was purer and he the type of nigga swear he real but all around is fake
The women, the dickriders, you know, the yes men/ Nobody with the balls to say something to contest him / So it grows out of control/ Until the person that he truly was all along is starting to show
As if that wouldn't stir up enough drama, Cole follows the digs at 'Ye with some thinly veiled shots at rappers that use ghostwriters — which many have been quick to interpret as a diss directed at Drake.
"Wonder what happened / Maybe it's my fault for idolizing niggas based off the words that they be rappin'," Cole raps. "But come to find out these niggas don't even write they own shit / Hear some new style bubbling up then they bite that shit."
Drake was famously at the centre of hip-hop's biggest beef last year, after Meek Mill accused the Toronto rapper of using ghostwriters. Additionally, Sean Paul called out Drake and Justin Bieber for their appropriative takes on dancehall music earlier this year.
"False Prophets" can be previewed in the aforementioned Eyez documentary. Tidal subscribers can look for it in the player below at the 30:40 mark.
4 Your Eyez Only is due out on December 9 through Dreamville/Roc Nation.