J. Cole made a surprise release titled “Heaven’s EP” along with a music video. The three-minute track contains a lengthy singular verse on which J. Cole talks about many topics. The song is a reflection of Cole’s life at this point in his career and draws some comparisons to other prominent acts in the game.
“Heaven’s EP” is J. Cole’s first release since his highly acclaimed sixth studio album ‘The Off-Season’ releases in May 2021. ‘The Off-Season’ tour kicks off on September 24, 2021, in Miami, Florida.
“Heaven’s EP” takes on the beat of “Pipe Down” by Drake from his 2021 album ‘Certified Lover Boy.’ The music video for the song shows J. Cole flying on a private jet with his friends, who are deep in sleep. A long flight with nothing else to do really sparks some thought bubbles that J. Cole decided to share with us.
Listen to “Heaven’s EP” by J. Cole
J. Cole “Heaven’s EP” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Intro
J. Cole opts to retain some of the lyrics from his sample of Drake’s “Pipe Down.”
I’m working on dying
She belong to the streets
The first line is a popular producer tag of the same name. The second line is a popular phrase to say that a girl lacks morality and sleeps around.
In the context of “Heaven’s EP,” J. Cole touches on the fact that he has devoted his entire life to the music game and looking from the mountain top, he wonders was it all worth it?!
Verse
J. Cole starts off his verse by questioning his presence in the hip-hop game right now. He wonders if he has any value to add to the craft right now. He represents African Americans who have seen the absolute worst side of life growing up on the streets. But now, Cole is a few million richer than all the people he speaks for. Does his message connect to these people now? Do they still perceive him as a source of inspiration?
Or has the money watered me down, that truth is hard for me
Cole recalls the times when he got dropped from his junior varsity team twice. He was in tears but he knew that he had it coming. But he didn’t lament in the past. He made a vow to himself that he will shift gears in his life. Look forward and put the work in; “Whatever you do, you won’t do it partially.”
Cole spits out a truth that we at Justrandomthings Music Community believe in, too. “Success is in the effort.” If you want better results, try harder. There is always more room for improvement. If someone else did it, so can you.
Cole also seems to say that God had little part in the success story that he had created so far. He credits himself for his success. It was all his efforts that bear fruit now. God does not give you success. He will give you opportunities to make do what you will out of them!
J. Cole evaluates his position in the rap game right now. He hears that a lot of people place him third, behind Drake and Kendrick Lamar (K.Dot). With regards to commercial success among the new-school of rappers, this ranking might be accurate. However, lyrically, J. Cole does trump Drake. Despite him being put in the third spot, Cole bears no remorse for these artists as he calls them “superstars” in his eyes.
Update: After hearing the above ranking, Drake took a minute off during his live performance in Miami on September 28, 2021, along with J. Cole on stage to say that Cole is one of the greatest rappers of this time.
“I just want you to understand something. You are, genuinely, without a doubt, one of the greatest rappers to ever touch the mic. And I wanna let you know, there’s way too many people in the world that think and know that J. Cole is at the top of the position. I love you with all my heart. You are my brother, and one of my favorite artists and always appreciate you having here.”
Next, Cole talks about how he prefers to keep his personal life away from the public. Many artists mix up these two and pay hefty prices when the public absolutely destroys their private lives. Some mortgage their private lives for fame, which is never a good deal. Cole sees this as attracting unnecessary hate. People love to hate. Don’t give them more content to hate on.
I don’t play when it come to family, that’s one thing I refuse
Cole casually warns his haters that his family is off limits. They can say anything about him, but leave his kids out of their drama. Rappers such as Eminem have also made this very clear. Cole questions the morals of these people who leech off of anything, even someone else’s child.
Cole also says that he is the best in the rap game right now. He says that not many have realized it just yet. A lot of people are often swayed by ‘bells and whistles’ or the glamour attached to a body of music. The bells and whistles distract the listener from what really matters in a song–the message. Basically, Cole is mocking artists who make music for the sake of making music, especially making radio hits.
I’m from the ‘Ville where young girls talk grown as hell
That’s raw, never saw one person go to Yale
But every n*gga that I know done gone to jail
J. Cole reflects on the environment he grew up in. There was nothing pleasant about these surroundings. Everybody had to grow up fast and hustle to make money. They were all born into a broken system that did not let him get out. Young girls had to grow up fast. Impoverished, uneducated, and with a lack of paternal care, they often fell prey to thirsty men. Cole never saw anyone from the hoods go to a prominent university in the world. But he did see almost all of them go to jail. The people he grew up with were hungry. School and university was the farthest thing from their minds.
For Cole, music was his way out of all these problems. He made it out and he wants to inspire and show all the others that there is a way. At this point in his career, just jumping on a feature with another artist means that Cole will be eating for days. This also means that when Cole gets on a track, he is ready to eat up his competition.
Why did J. Cole drop this surprise track “Heaven’s EP” right before a hectic tour is about to begin?
Supposed to be relaxin’, this passion makes that impossible, mm
Before a hectic tour begins, Cole should be relaxing. In the music video, Cole and his friends are in Vegas. Although his friends are sleeping, Cole wrote this song and also shot a music video. He is supposed to be relaxing, but his passion for this game makes it impossible to just lay down the pen.
J. Cole is among the elites in the rap game and has pretty much ‘made it’ by every definition of the term. But he is still hungry. He is still passionate and we love it.
Let us hear what you think about this new track by Cole in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.