J. Cole

Hello Friends,

I am hooked on J. Cole's 'Friday Night Lights' mix-tape. It reminds me very much of the first time I heard Common, The Roots or even Kanye's first album 'The College Drop-out' for that matter. It's not just another mix-tape - it's easily one of the finest.

I will never claim to be an expert in any genre of music - let alone Hip Hop. I just know what I like and when I really like something I can't talk enough about it - and will do so with whomever's willing to listen. This album is chalk full of cameos and guest appearances including Kanye West, Erykah Badu, Drake, Pusha T, Big Sean to name a few.

I had the pleasure of seeing J. Cole on stage with Drake at Radio City Music Hall in NYC this past September. It was a beautiful thing to see a homecoming for a local boy on such a massive stage. The crowd went nuts when he joined Drake for 'Who Dat?'

My colleague Scott told me about J. Cole this time last year. He introduced me to 'Who Dat?' by way of a link. It was a stellar song - but I thought that's all this guy had. I honestly thought it was another 1 hit wonder scenario. I'm now sold and think that this young artist is going to play a big role in changing the game and bringing it to the next chapter.

An album is always meant to be heard in the order it appears on the track-listing - and that's how I recommend you listen to this one. BUT since we live in an A.D.D. world I have also taken the liberty of selecting 5 tracks for you to check out J. Cole and see what you think.

• You Got It
• Too Deep For The Intro
• Before I'm Gone
• Higher
• Who Dat?

RapCity recently returned to MuchMusic to what appears to be a very happy Hip Hop community. Along with it comes a new host in @Trexxx1LOVETO. The show premiered last Thursday at 10pm and will live at that time moving forward. I for one am excited to see how it transforms and brings Hip Hop's scene into the spotlight each week.

Enough work plugs - the reason I brought it up is because when I was listening to J. Cole's mix-tape at my desk the other day when Trexxx came over to throw in his two cents. He pointed out a few lyrics to me that I don't think I'd have appreciated had he not done so. Here's a quick one...

• "Partially functional, Half of me is comfortable, The other half is close to the cliff, Like Mrs. Huxtable."

Thanks for reading/listening.

Gregg