While we are all still waiting on The Fall Off to arrive, J Cole still did a pretty cool thing last night. The legendary North Carolina rapper and producer brought his debut mixtape, The Come Up Mixtape Vol. 1 to streaming. The May 2007 release is one of three coveted projects prior to his debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. This tape was brought out thanks to MC delivering his new audio series Inevitable. He announced that over the weekend, it's going to be 10 episodes, and will reveal some cool BTS of Cole's career leading up to 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
As it stands, fans are speculating that we could be getting all three of these foundational mixtapes. That's especially because The Come Up was dropped in tandem with the first episode which was also titled after the project. If that's true, then we will also have The Warm Up on November 22 and Friday Night Lights on November 27. It's an exciting thought, but for now, we are revisiting one of J Cole's earliest hits, "Simba." Here, you are getting him at his hungriest as he likens himself to Simba from The Lion King, as the heir to rap throne, which he believes belonged to his soon-to-be mentor, JAY-Z. Overall, it's a motivational anthem. Additionally, it's an early look into how his writing and flows would evolve.
"Simba" - J Cole
Quotable Lyrics:
Man, I'm hungry, does it show? Ain't nuttin' funny, f*** a joke
I'm gettin' money 'til my pockets need a tummy tuck, I hope
You n****s woke now, impermanently send you to hell
You meet the devil, sign a permanent lease, word on the streets
Is I'm the prince n****, check the splendor, and I can't wait
To be the King, n****: young Simba, word on the streets