Rap fans are currently going crazy over J. Cole's new song and video, "False Prophets," which was part of his "Eyez" documentary that premiered on Tidal last night. The song comes with the smooth and clever lyricism that Cole is loved for, but more importantly, it focuses on a rap hero experiencing a fall from grace. The lyrics seem to point to one emcee in particular: Kanye West. Many fans consider Cole's portrait of Kanye as a "false prophet" to be astute while others have condemned the song for coming out right after Ye was in the hospital for a severe mental breakdown.
It was initially thought that "False Prophets" was surefire material for Cole's album, 4 Your Eyez Only, but the beat happens to be an old one, Freddie Joachim's "Waves," which was made famous by a Joey Bada$$ track of the same title that was included on his 2012 mixtape 1999. Of course, "Waves" also happens to be the title of one of the more popular tracks on Kanye West's latest album, The Life of Pablo. Out of all three tracks, Joey still considers his original "Waves" to be the best.
Upon hearing Cole's new track, Joey tweeted, "Imma tell Cole like I told Kanye earlier this year ... I still got the best 'Waves' of all time!"
Joey went on to congratulate Cole on "False Prophets," which he apparently heard months ago. Interestingly, this paints the song's implication of Kanye West in a new light, as it deals not with Ye's recent mental breakdown but his headline-making antics from earlier in the year.
Which of the songs do you think is the best?