Drake VS J. Cole – Hip Hop’s New Rivalry
Hip-Hop is a huge competition that can be compared to high school. I mean twitter said it first with the trending topic #ifhiphopwashighschool. It doesn’t matter to me though because we have one of the biggest competitions that hip hop has had since Nas Vs. Jay-Z, the competition is between J.Cole & Drake. This competition is not huge right now but it can be expanded to something that hip hop needs right now, not later but right now. I never was a person that liked a genre where one artist was only dominating in their specific area. I enjoy having a plethora of artists that bring a unique talent with them.
J. Cole and Drake have a date that bonds them together, June 15th. Last year June 15th was the day that Cole’s critically acclaimed mix-tape “The Warm Up” came out and brought the college tour and the Roc Nation deal that he deserved. While this year on June 15th, Drake came out with his album “Thank Me Later”, which went on to sell 460,000 the first week and was this year’s most anticipated album.
Cole has a unique presence on the mic on which he brings energy on every songs he performs, I remember watching the 40/40 performance and the crowd was dull and did not know his songs, nevertheless he performed each song with energy and exuberance as if the crowd knew every one of his lyrics. There is no denying that he is lyrical and probably the most lyrical out of the entire freshman class (including Drake). Plus he has one of the biggest co-signs ever, Jay-Z. Cole is the first signee of Roc Nation and the rap ambassador for Fayetteville, NC. Cole brings something that gives him a great push; he is from an unknown town. He was also featured in XXL magazine‘s 2010 version of Top Ten Freshmen. Cole dropped a single called “Who Dat” and is also featured on the hit song “All I Want is You” by Miguel Jontel. Taking from the crowd response to him at the BET Awards, J. Cole will be staying in Hip-Hop for a while.
J. Cole – BET Awards 2010 Performance!
Drake is a different type of talent, originally a rapper, he brought his skills to the mic during his first mix-tape “Room for Improvement“. He continued on improving his linguistic and lyrical skills on his second mix-tape “Comeback Season“. Drake sang on one of his songs where he is explaining how a girl is crazy and from there grew a fascination for singing. This is where the critically acclaimed “So Far Gone” was released. Drake’s lyricism mix with thought provoking melodies brings something different to hip-hop. Not only does his talent back him up, he has Eminem, Kanye West, and Alicia Keys under his collaboration belt. While J Cole has Jay-Z as a boss, Drake has Lil’ Wayne as a boss, mentor and friend. It seems that Drake has a personal relationship with the man who gave him a chance and Wayne made sure that drake would succeed in the business. Drake had a head start because of the success of “Best I Ever Had‘ a number one hit that brought obscene pressure on a rookie who was ready to deliver on his “Thank Me Later“. With a number #1 album already under his belt, how far can Drake reach to the plateau of superstar rappers?
Drake – BET Awards 2010 Performance!
While both artist have a long way to go to put themselves on a platform to be hip hop legends, both have been working hard to become better artists. People choose J. Cole because he is an artist who can rap with the lyrical capacity to make a man think, while others choose Drake because of his of mixture of Rap and R&B could be placed along greats like Lauryn Hill. One thing is for certain, both of these artists are the substance that hip hop needs and if the competition continues, hip hop won’t be dying any time soon.
