[Haider Mahmood]

Haider Mahmood English 1101 Dr.Carrie Hall J Cole A Tale of 2 Citiez
I just got home from a hot summer day at the park. I got home and so many thoughts running through my head. I wish I can talk to one of my family members about my emotions and thoughts. Unfortunately there’s no one, so I put on my headphones and play some hip hop music when I come across a song by J Cole. I come across a song called “ A Tale Of 2 Citiez”” which relates to the exact way I was feeling. The things J Cole is saying in his song is exactly what I am going through today. It was to a point where I thought to myself that J Cole is someone I look up to because he speaks nothing but the truth.
My favorite song by J Cole must be “A Tale Of 2 Citiez” which is a song about J Cole wanting to get rich. In the song J Cole starts off by saying “since a youngin always dreamed of gettin rich” which is a goal of mine ever since I was a kid. Growing up having nothing makes you want to live your life till you have enough money to buy your family and yourself anything. J Cole continues the song by saying he has a nightmare that one of his friends was robbed and he thought to himself can he blame the robber for stealing when he didn’t have anything. This song relates to the exact situation I was in when I was 15 but instead of having a friend that was robbed or being robbed, I was the robber. At 15 I had no money and neither did my friend, so we would fantasize about getting money. We would circle the neighborhood and look for someone who had something valuable, so we can rob them and sell it to get cash. Anything from phones, wallets, sky walkers, etc. that’s one of the things I regret the most and though it was one of the stupid things most people do as kids. In “A Tale of 2 Citiez” J Cole did the same thing but instead of robbing people who were walking and at parks he would rob people who were at a red light sitting in their car for their watches. At the end of the song J Cole says a prayer “father forgive me for my childish ways” which messes with my mind a lot because I don’t believe in god but even if I don’t believe in him is he responsible for everything bad that has happened to me.
J Cole is an influential rapper of the 20th century, some listen to his music to vibe but other can relate to his songs. J Cole also known as Jermaine Cole was born on January 28, 1985, at a U.S. Army base in Frankfurt, West Germany. J Coles father, an African-American soldier, left his mother, who was a white German postal worker, when Cole was a baby. She moved with him and his older brother, Zach, to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where the family lived in trailer parks as she struggled to make money for them to survive. His mom eventually had to remarry to Cole’s stepfather was also in the Army. With the help of the stepfather the family relocated to a nicer home. However, the marriage slowly destructed, and the family lost the house as Cole was about to leave for college. His stepfather had become abusive toward his brother after the marriage ended, Cole’s mother became addicted to crack under the influence of a new boyfriend. J Cole is known for making songs that tell a story that thousands of people are going or went through. J Cole’s is considered the most humble and talented rapper of all time. Mostly because what he raps about, recently he called out Lil Pump who is a famous mumble rapper for wasting money on diamond chains and expensive designer and gave him a life lesson to never stop touring and making money. In 2014 J Cole was asked to rate his top 6 rappers and he said “Biggy, Jay Z, Tupac, Nas, Andre 3000, Eminem. Imagine hearing millions of people say you are the greatest rapper of all time and not even rating yourself top 6.
In the song J Cole says Me I want my pockets fat about a bitch
Tired of seein’ niggas flaunt, I wanna flaunt too nigga” . This was J Cole saying he wanted to be rich just like everyone who had the nice cars, expensive watches, big houses etc.… Which to me meant a lot, everyday saying people having money and living a good life is what I wanted for myself. J Cole continues by saying “I look around like do you want to be another nigga, That ain’t never had things”. This is the main lyric that motivated me to continue working hard until I was at a point at my life where I could by anything I want. And J Cole finishes his song by saying “Your wish is my command, my command, my command” which means J Cole wanted god to take him away from all this pain he was experiencing and was willing to do anything god ask him to do and that easily relates to anyone including me who go through a struggle and try to look to god for answers but I gave up on god the second I realized that I was supposed to find my own way out. Lyrics from J Cole’s song mean a lot to people and that’s why people respect him and all of his songs. Knowing that he isn’t rapper about bullshit but actually rapping about real life situations make his song 100 times better.

In conclusion, I can tell you, me and J Cole are alike. J Cole’s father left his mother and stepfather abused his brother and gave crack to his mother. In my case my father died when I was a baby, so you can say both of us never had a male role model. Growing up without a father is hard mostly because of the struggles you see your mother go through and I think that’s what made J Cole who he is today. When J Cole was a kid he moved from trailer to trailer watching his mother having a hard time making money. As a kid I remember being moved from one foster house to another with my brother and my 3 sisters in a different foster house because my mother couldn’t prove to ACS that she could take care of all 5 of us. I remember my being evicted from 5 different apartments. I remember sleeping outside on the floor and going to the homeless shelter waiting for them to give us a place to sleep. The fact that I remember this, and J Cole remembers that can really affect your mentality to a point where you are willing to do anything to live a better life. I believe this is what made J Cole famous and motivated him to become a star.