I’ve enjoyed the last few J. Cole releases but they took time to grow on me. Mainly because of the beats. He produces a bunch of his own beats and most of them are pretty low-key and never really grab me straight from the jump. Like this beat for example.
Just a slow, thoughtful, and kinda boring beat where he raps about how annoying it is to pay taxes.
Some people were not happy with this take.
Now If you can make it to the 3rd verse, which I eventually did on the like 10th listen, you learn that his main message is that he wants to control where his taxes go as now the government says they will go towards roads and schools when they are really just as likely to go to a corporation that makes guns that end up killing kids in his neighborhood. An admirable sentiment but he’s never going to reach this ADD era of youth with that message if the beat isn’t good enough to keep them hooked for the first 3+ minutes. That’s not the case with “middle child” though. I think I’m just a sucker for horns in beats as I was locked in from the start. And guess what, I was still tuned in when he starts getting socially conscious in the 3rd verse. Solid combination of great beat, braggadocio, and meaningful lyrics. That’s how you do it Cole! Looking forward to the album.
