Both the rap game and the sporting World took notice when J. Cole sent overwhelmingly positive wishes toTekashi 6ix9ine and troubled NBA sophomore Markelle Fultz, whose circumstances couldn't be any more different. Markelle Fultz is struggling to get his NBA career off the ground, whereas Tekashi 6ix9ine is legitimately facing half-a-century. Nevertheless, J. Cole grouped them together in the verse he sent to 21 Savage for his I Am > I Was album opener "a lot."
Cole spits, "I pray for Markelle 'cause they fucked up his shot - Just want you to know that you got it, my n***a. Though I never met you, I know that you special, and that the Lord blessed you, don't doubt it, my n**a," before on a tangent where he mentions fellow NBA sophomore Dennis Smith Jr. for no reason at all. Besides the fact, J. Cole is a known basketball aficionado, which explains his fascination with NBA talent, therein lies a real issue of concern to those with a vested interest in Fultz' career, including Markelle himself. It's come to the point where Fultz' struggles to adapt, whether a confidence issue, a mistaken case of injury woes, or all the above, have led his mom to install surveillance cameras in his home, so she can monitor his "activities." Weird right?
And then on December 4th, they hit us with an update on Fultz' physical condition. Apparently, the second-year guard has been unknowingly coping with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, in other words, a big gap between the collarbone and the first rib rendering him weak. We might be ways away from predicting the outcome of his tenure with the 76ers, or his NBA Career, but one thing stands to reason: the 76ers are in win-now mode and might entail Fultz sitting on the bench, or someplace else. There's only so much J. Cole can do with prayer and song. Tangible reality is helluva binch.