J. Cole's Freestyle Earned Him Some Backlash For This Bill Cosby Line

J. Cole kicked off his return to music with a fire freestyle but it didn’t come without controversy.

The Carolina native may have been missing from the scene for a bit, but he clearly didn’t take any time off. J. Cole is the type of rapper who probably writes bars in his sleep, so it was no surprise when he dropped by The LA Leakers to deliver a couple of flawless freestyles over some throwback tracks.

When presented with the instrumentals for Souls of Mischief’s “93 Til Infinity”, Cole didn’t hesitate to pour out his honey smooth flow, quickly getting to the real point—explaining that he knows he’s the best, even if he doesn’t always get the accolades he deserves.

“This is chess better check your board/Who gave the world more fire but got less reward?” he rhymes. “No stress, my only guess is that less is more/More or less, hundred G’s in my dresser drawer.”

He goes on to reference his lavish lifestyle and womanizing tendencies, not untypical of many rap lyrics. However, what is untypical is Cole’s highly elevated wordplay and use of clever callbacks and complicated rhyme schemes.

“Walking contradiction, my description,” he spits, accurately pointing out his ability to be both stereotypical and entirely unique at the same time.

J. Cole goes on to deliver another freestyle that shows off his fast-rapping skills. Although he isn’t necessarily known as one of the quickest spitting rappers in the game, he definitely has flows in his arsenal that would get many other rappers tongue-tied. Rapping over the slow southern beat for Mike Jones’ “Still Tippin”, J. Cole expertly juxtaposes the track’s drawl with a rapid-fire verse that addresses the many ways in which he sets himself apart from other popular rappers, as well as his gratitude for how far he’s come.

For good measure, Cole also throws in a Bill Cosby reference that manages to be cringeworthy and genius at the same time.

Luckily for J. Cole fans, the rapper has much more to offer following these freestyles. His sixth studio album, The Off Season, drops Friday, May 14^th.