J. Cole's Importance to Black Culture
Over the past 8 years J. Cole has solidified his spot as one of the most successful rappers of all time. He has topped the Billboard charts five times, as all his studio released albums have charted at number 1. Along with securing his place as a renowned lyricist, Cole has also used his voice and platform to highlight the racial injustices and inequalities that African Americans face. He has long-since been an advocate to combat the oppression that Black people have inherited. His earliest involvement started while he was in college. Cole attended St. John’s University and was the President of a Pan-African organization while on campus. Now, as one of the most outspoken rappers surrounding social justice issues, Cole continues to fight the systemic disparities through his music and his non-profit organization, ‘The Dreamville Foundation.’
Involvement
On August 9, 2014 Michael Brown was murdered by police officer Darren Wilson. Almost immediately following the shooting residents of the Canfield neighborhood took to the streets and began to voice concerns and pose questions about his murder. Some of the most pressing questions that community members presented were: Why was there no medical aid given to Brown immediately after the shooting? Why was his slain body left lifeless on the pavement for hours? These unanswered questions combined with an already frustrated community incited protests that ensued in the coming days and weeks in Ferguson. Residents wanted their voices heard and expressed that the incident was racially motivated as state violence against Black people is a major ongoing problem. According to Dorian Johnson, a friend of Mike Brown who was with him at the time of the incident, officer Wilson provoked an altercation with Brown that ultimately ended in the death of Brown. Wilson argued the contrary surrounding what led up to the murder.
With statistics like, “Every 28 hours a Black person is killed by a vigilante or police officer in America,” broadcasted all over social media stemming from the prior murders of Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner, the murder of Mike Brown quickly made national news. The Black Lives Matter Movement asserted that Brown was unjustly killed and demanded that officer Wilson be indicted on murder charges.
Just days after Brown’s murder J. Cole took to Twitter saying:
Soon thereafter, Cole also released a song, “Be Free” on his SoundCloud following a statement on his Dreamville website:
“Rest in peace to Michael Brown and to every young black man murdered in America, whether by the hands of white or black. I pray that one day the world will be filled with peace and rid of injustice. Only then will we all Be Free. There was a time in my life when I gave a fu*k. Every chance I got I was screaming about it. I was younger. It’s so easy to try to save the world when you’re in college. You got nothing but time and no responsibility. But soon life hits you. No more dorms, no more meal plan, no more refund check. Ni**a need a job. Ni**a got rent. Got car note. Cable bill. Girlfriend moves in and becomes wife. Baby on the way. Career advances. Instagram is poppin’. LeBron leaves Miami. LIFE HITS. We become distracted. We become numb. I became numb. But not anymore. That coulda been me, easily. It could have been my best friend. I’m tired of being desensitized to the murder of black men. I don’t give a fu*k if it’s by police or peers. This sh*t is not normal. I made a song. This is how we feel.”
In addition to speaking out on social media, on August 17, 2014, J. Cole visited Ferguson, Missouri to see the memorial of Mike Brown and to speak with members of the community. He spent hours in the West Florissant neighborhood. Listening to the people and their concerns was his main priority. He asserted that he was not interested in speaking as much as he was there to be a listening ear to the grieving and rightfully upset residents. Initially he stated that he would not participate in any press interviews because that was not his intention when visiting Ferguson, however he briefly spoke with Complex. He articulated the following when asked about his perception on the incident:
Cole, never one to hold back his thoughts and opinions on issues that directly affect the Black community continued to show his solidarity with those who were outraged. Later that year, on December 10, 2014, Cole performed “Be Free” for the first time on David Lettermen’s then late-night show. The lyrics offer a powerful and compelling message in more of a spoken word styled rap dedicated to those who have been victimized by police brutality. Cole called his performance, “the most important thing” he’s ever done on stage.
In December 2016, Cole released his fourth studio album, “4 Your Eyez Only.” The album is personal as it discusses a multitude of issues from capitalism, racial prejudices, and having his property raided by police.
Cole released the “4 Your Eyez Only: A Dreamville Film” documentary on HBO on April 15, 2017. In the film, Cole provides an inside look into intimate interviews from his second visit to Ferguson, Missouri in addition to the cities of: Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Fayetteville and Jonesboro. The documentary takes the audience through his journey of recording visuals for the album and primarily features a behind the scenes look at what constituted his filming of the music videos. Throughout the film, Cole captures the quintessence of the people. Within the documentary, on the unreleased song “Want You To Fly” Cole outwardly expresses, “Fu*k the world that would have you think that a ni**a worthless.” With gripping tales of street violence accompanied with critical challenges of disenfranchisement, obstacles of the marginalized in society and the vital importance of love Cole paints the picture of the album’s goal which was, “to humanize the people that have been villainized in the media,” (Caramanica, 2017).
During his second trip to Ferguson he visited the memorial of Mike Brown once again. This time, perhaps by fate while on his way to the see the tree that marked Brown’s vigil, he spoke with a family member of Brown and was given more insight into the vision Brown had for his future. A shocking revelation was revealed in which Cole linked the connection to Brown as being a vessel for change:
When constructing the documentary for “4 Your Eyes Only” Cole asserted that, “The people that I know that live that [street] life and come from that life, or even used to live that life, there’s so much more than that. They have multiple sides, and the side that is the strongest is love. These are people that never get to be heard by the world or even by each other,” (Caramanica, 2017). Consequently, Cole made it a point to have the opinions of the members of the community represented in the film. For that reason, he spent some time discussing the specific problems that directly leave an impact on Black people who live Ferguson and other inner-cities across America. During one interview a group of men offered their stance on the issues:
At the end of the documentary Cole visits his Father’s hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas. While there he learned the history of the African American community that pioneered the city. This parallels the video production for the last song on the album. The title track “4 Your Eyez Only” is an 8-minute message that is heartfelt and descriptive. The song is written from the perspective of what Cole has stated to be based upon the life of a close friend. The ‘friend’ speaks to Cole by confessing that he has had a premonition that he will not live long, and he has a message for Cole to pass on to his daughter if he does face an untimely death. The song also addresses issues involving socioeconomic (class-based) oppression, segregation, mass incarceration and critiques the school-to-prison pipeline:
The Dreamville Foundation
J. Cole established ‘The Dreamville Foundation’ in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina in 2011 with the primary goal to, “bridge the gap between world of opportunity and the urban youth.” To equip the youth with the resources that they will need to achieve their dreams Cole formulated programs and events to prompt outreach to garner students to be, “set for success.” Cole proclaimed that, “I want to start the process of showing them there are other options besides what’s on the screen. They don’t have to be a rapper or an athlete… There are so many jobs you can do; this is about expanding their minds to those possibilities.” Since the founding of the non-profit organization, Cole has conducted Back-To-School giveaways for children to receive school supplies and hosted community dinners. Cole has also created a Young Men’s Book Club for youth that has targeted literature for teens to read. Additionally, during his annual Dreamville Weekend, he hosts a career day panel of African American professionals from various fields to come out and speak to the youth.
In 2014 Cole bought his childhood home in Fayetteville and has plans to establish the residence as a safe space for single Mothers. He explained, “What we gon’ do, we still working it out right now, obviously it’s a detailed, fragile situation I don’t wanna play with. My goal is to have that be a haven for families. So, every two years a new family will come in, they live rent free. The idea is that it’s a single mother with multiple kids and she’s coming from a place where all her kids [are] sharing a room. She gets to come here rent free. I want her kids to feel how I felt when we got the house, (Stutz, 2015).”
Furthermore, in September of last year, The Dreamville Foundation provided aid for families that were affected by Hurricane Florence. “Food stations placed throughout the city [Fayetteville], temporary housing options for families and stocking of food pantries/shelters” were some of the services that were listed on the Dreamville website following the disastrous storm.
Support of Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick took a stance, or a knee rather, back in the 2016 NFL season. His kneeling caused controversy surrounding the issues against police brutality and the unfair treatment of Black people. Kaepernick affirmed that, “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed.” The controversy then spiraled into debates about the US flag and the military, all of which have not addressed the issues that Kaepernick presented. Cole, having understood the objective, met with Colin Kaepernick on August 7, 2017 to extend his support and encourage his involvement in his advocacy. After their meeting, Kaepernick expressed his gratitude of Cole by stating:
In September 2017, Cole urged fans to boycott the NFL via Twitter announcing:
“Every day they stay quiet on this they’re saying that they condone what’s happening to Kap and the message it sends.”
“This may be the biggest opportunity we have ever been presented to come together and show the world and ourselves our true economic power.”
Two months later in November of that year, Cole was interviewed by GQ Magazine and he discussed his admiration and support of Colin Kaepernick. He emphasized that, “People don’t understand that this dude sacrificed his livelihood, his dream and his career. Fu*k the money– he sacrificed his dream.”
He went on to say that Kaepernick is, “Not looking for attention. It wasn’t an excuse to get attention. But a few games in, people did call attention to it. And they asked him why he did it. And he says, “I don’t feel comfortable standing for these reasons. Now he’s blackballed from the NFL. He can’t get a job with any team. Period, point blank. It was when I saw the sh*t he was saying in the interviews when they pressed him about it. His answers were just so clear and potent. Like, right on point. And he wasn't backing down. And he wasn't afraid. He was just being honest. You're talking about a guy in his athletic prime, who’s lived his whole life dreaming about playing football at a level that millions of kids dream to get to. And in his first big season, he takes his team to within five yards of winning a Super Bowl. But then, at some point in time, he becomes conscious about what's happening in the world. And suddenly something that he's been doing blindly for his whole life—standing for the national anthem—now feels uncomfortable. Why? Because now it feels phony! It feels like, Man, how can I stand for this thing when this country is not holding itself true to the principles it says it stands for? I feel like we're lying. And look what happens to him.”
Over the past two years Cole has dedicated his time and his effort to back Kaepernick. Most recently on August 14, 2019 Cole continued to show his support by tweeting:
All in all, J. Cole has been an instrumental figure in raising awareness and advocating for the plight of Black people. From speaking out on social justice issues in his music to directly getting involved in his neighborhood he has sought to be the change to help uplift the Black community and he has created a lasting impact that will surely leave its mark on the world.
References
Caramanica, J. (2017). J. Cole, the platinum rap dissident, steps back from the spotlight. The New York Times.
Dreamville Films Inc. (2017). J. Cole: ‘Want You To Fly.’ Dreamville Records.
Stephen, B. (2017). J. Cole on why he admires the sacrifice of Colin Kaepernick. QG Magazine.
Stutz, C. (2015). J. Cole wants to turn his childhood home into rent-free living for single mothers. Billboard.
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