“WHO TF IZ U” is the eighth track on J. Cole’s seventh studio album ‘The Fall-Off.’ Throughout the song, Cole flexes on his status in the music game while dropping some crafty bars. The title of the song is an attempt to separate himself from the rest of the hip-hop artists.
‘The Fall-Off’ is J. Cole’s highly anticipated seventh studio album, followed by the 2021 project ‘The Off-Season.’ With this album, Cole completes his sports-themed album titles, which began with his 2007 debut mixtape ‘The Come Up,’ followed by 2009’s ‘The Warm-Up,’ and 2010’s ‘Friday Night Lights.’
In his personal blog, Algorithm, J. Cole wrote about his passion to create the best music he can with ‘The Fall-Off’ album; “For the past 10 years, this album has been hand crafted with one intention: a personal challenge to myself to create my best work. To do on my last what I was unable to do on my first. I had no way of knowing how much time, focus and energy it would eventually take to achieve this, but despite the countless challenges along the way, I knew in my heart I would one day get to the finish line. I owed it first and foremost to myself. And secondly, I owed it to hip hop.”
Cole also mentions, in the same blog, that ‘The Fall-Off’ could be his last album.
Listen to “WHO TF IZ U” by J. Cole
What is the meaning of the song “WHO TF IZ U” by J. Cole?
The song kicks off with a call Cole is receiving from an area code he keeps close to heart. In the United States, the 910 area code is linked to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where J. Cole is from. He has always paid homage to his roots through his music.
Come view the style of the unibrowed Unabomber
J. Cole calls himself a unibrowed Unabomber – unibrowed because he almost has a unibrow – Unabomber is a reference to John Kaczynski, who was a domestic terrorist who mailed 17 bombs over 17 years that killed three people and injured seventeen more. Cole simply compares his penmanship and rap skills to the destructive power of bombs.
Evil ain’t the paper with the eagle, but what people would do for dollars
J. Cole says that he had to do his part to be alive for this long, even after dropping some destructive songs over the years. He moved more calmly than a saint to avoid his own funeral. In the above line, Cole dissects the famous quote ‘money is the root of all evil’ and says that money isn’t evil; it’s simply the people who would do anything for money that are evil.
What I’m quotin’ is God sculpted, come view the pottery
J. Cole also does not shy away from his faith. He believes that he has been able to create some ethereal music that spreads the good word of God. He also says that his music is as if something created by God himself – perfection!
In the second verse of the song, J. Cole talks about the streets that he grew up in that molded him. He had to tread very carefully to be able to do what he does now. He recalls streets filled with drugs, guns, and homeless people. He talks about a time when he was walking home with his Walkman blasting music in his ears, and he heard a loud bang overpowering the music. Unfortunately, he knew what it was and ran to safety. While running, he runs past the victim who just got shot, and he was struggling on the ground, bleeding and screaming. Apparently, it was a result of a drug deal gone bad.
I was makin’ sure they refer to my first and last
Name, Jermaine Cole, with Hall of Fame flows
J. Cole, fortunately, found his calling in music and worked extremely hard to sharpen his skills. He made sure that the whole world knows his full name – Jermaine Cole. He is not exaggerating when he says his name is associated with ‘hall of flame of flows’ if there was one!
Part two of “WHO TF IZ U” comes with a switch in the flow. It contains one verse, in which J. Cole talks about keeping it real and humble despite his success.
No diamonds on my neck, no Rollie on my wrist
However, this is not entirely the humble brag we think it is. This also speaks volumes about the people he associate and the condition of the streets he moves in. Cole essentially took the target off his back by not flaunting his riches around. He also says that he would rather carry no money with him than have to carry guns to protect himself. Anything can go wrong in a shootout. He values his life a little too much to hang a target on his back for some clout. Cole says that he learned it the hard way to value his life over maintaining a flashy lifestyle in public.
J. Cole also shouts out two artists in the song – the 90’s hip-hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and 50 Cent.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.