The Fresh Explainer: Why I wrote what I wrote about J. Cole

There will be a brief freshness hiatus this week, but it’s only because I feel the need to explain myself about last week’s post on J. Cole. I didn’t write the blog to stir up controversy, and I certainly didn’t write the blog thinking I would offend anyone. I don’t think it was inappropriate for me to compare the two artists in the manner I did, but I’m not going to put up a defensive wall of pride where I don’t admit that I regret my post. I regret it not because it was wrong, but because my choice of words overshadowed what I think was a deft overview of an up-and-coming artist I admire. And because it is never my objective to put people off or cause them to think I’m prejudicial.

But, as per the request of some, I will explain why I decided to include “light-skinned black dude” in my description of J. Cole. Before writing my blog post, I did research. I read interviews with both rappers, I read reviews of their mixtapes and I listened to their music in depth. In almost every comprehensive survey of the two rappers’ similarities, the parallels of their physical appearance were mentioned. That meant using words such as “light skin.” So I guess if I’m to be rejected for anything, I would rather it be for triteness than racism.

Here’s a J. Cole interview with HipHopDX. He mentions both his and Drake’s light skin.

Here’s a blog that takes the same approach as mine in its lede: http://www.honeymag.com/message/story/view.castle?g=842523&m=6563634.
“He’s standing in the middle of a zip tight studio. Tall. Yellow skin brushed with the heat of a tan. Black Nike shirt up top. Dark sea denim below. He spits a swift line. Everyone stares. The young man is handsome and then some. But his name’s not Aubrey Graham.”

J. Cole and Drake both mention their skin color in their songs. Jay-Z mentions Eminem’s white skin in a song or two of his. If the two rappers both had huge ears, I would have drawn that comparison. The fact is, the two guys rap in a similar way, rap about similar things, are a similar age and look similar. Looking similar isn’t something that should be focused on, as it has nothing to do with the way someone raps, but it’s a feature that can be mentioned if relevant. Mentioning Tina Turner’s huge hair has nothing to do with how well she sings, but you’ve seen that hair! Can physical features never be mentioned? Fat Joe and Big Pun. Both fat.

In this case, J. Cole and Drake are rappers becoming prominent at the same time, and they have a number of liknesses. It doesn’t matter that they both have light skin. They just do.