"Snow On Tha Bluff" Review
- James Quinn
- Jun 18, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 16, 2020
I wasn’t going to write this post until I had settled on a position that encapsulates my thoughts on J Cole’s new song "Snow on Tha Bluff", but the song and the dialogue around it has been on my mind a lot for the last two days since it came so I might as well hit while the iron is hot.
I want to start this off by saying that I am a fan of J.Cole and his music. Forest Hills Drive and For Your Eyez Only are, in my opinion, some of the best and honest rap albums of the decade rivaling that of Kendrick Lamar's discography. J.Cole, as an artist, has a connection to his lyrics and his music that I don’t see a lot of in mainstream rappers these days. Unlike artists like Drake or Kanye, where the production and the brand seem to overshadow the lyricism, J. Cole’s minimalism in beats and emphasis on the written word is what intrigued me to his music. I also love the collaborative music he’s made with his studio platform “Dreamville,”; not only sharing the buck with a diverse group of rappers with varying flows like Earthgang, Mera, and more, but the community work they’ve done for the black culture. J. Cole has a lot going for him in his music career, but he's not perfect J. Cole has had a history of saying homophobic and misogynistic things in his rap music, and “Snow Tha Bluff” sets him back as far as wokeness goes.
My main issue with the song before I get into the misogyny is why J. Cole wrote the song. J. Cole makes a point in saying that he’s not “smart enough” or “woke enough” to be a leader and a speaker of black liberation in the time of protests, so, smart black women should instead. In particular, rapper, poet, and black activist “Noname” should educate him in a sweet tone that doesn’t make him feel bad. It’s a direct response to the tweet that “Noname” put out on her Twitter feed in which she calls out many black artists not tweeting about the protests or bringing any attention to the societal struggles that black people are facing right now. Throughout social media, this has primarily targeted artists such as Kendrick Lamar and J.Cole. Both of them have written about black liberation, police brutality, and systemic racism throughout all of their music. Personally, while I agree that artists should use their platform to speak about the injustices around us, I don’t think they’re necessarily obligated to post about it on social media. For all we know, Kendrick Lamar could be out there right now in the protests as I’m writing this. Especially Kendrick and Cole, they have done the work of writing about these current issues in their music. J. Cole himself has and is participating in protests in his hometown.
My point being is that J.Cole didn’t have to respond to Noname’s comments. J.Cole is a well-educated artist who knows how to address societal issues and take constructive criticism, which baffles me as to why he feels the need for other black women to educate him and others like him. “Snow on Tha Bluff” makes J.Cole look insecure, not being smart enough and feeling inferior. If that’s the case, then instead of whining about smart black women being too mean to him, J.Cole should look to black women as inspiration for wanting to do better. As a black male and writer, I’ll admit that even I’ve had these feelings of insecurity as well; as if my writing ability and knowledge aren’t as sharp as that of many black women I’ve met in school. However, instead of asking for them to tone down their radicalism, I look to them to see what I can do to better myself and emulate their drive to seek knowledge for myself. As J.Cole even said himself, “The only real change comes from inside,”; so I wish he took his advice in this instance.
As for the underlying misogyny of the lyrics, unfortunately, no matter how we as fans can justify it by saying he had good intentions, it is still a misogynistic song. J.Cole calling out “Noname” and other black women and just woke artists, in general, comes off as him telling black women to calm down. J.Cole shouldn’t be telling black women to calm down or take a different tone. In a world that is killing black women, raping black women, and silencing black women because they were “scary” or “too aggressive (which are also stereotypes used on black men too), why should black women change their radical tone? The protest and riots are ramping up along with the police brutality towards black people, and it’s high time for the systems that govern us to change for the betterment of our well-being. There have been peaceful protests, and yet we are consistently met with brutality and the killing of our people. We’ve been nice, and now is the time to show our anger and frustration with a government that doesn’t care about black people, other people of color, and the LGBTQ community.
J. Cole, if you just so happen to be reading this (which I highly doubt you will, but a boy can dream, can he?) don’t take this the wrong way. While you’ve made tons of progress in your awareness of societal issues in your lyrics, you’ve also shown that you still have a lot of growing to do, and that’s okay. You’ve shown in your music before that you can speak to the needs and frustration of black people in numerous tracks. Unlike most rappers, you listen to criticism and use that to make your music better. Now is the time to listen to women like Noname, read books by black feminist, and read about systemic racism, and homophobia. Sexism and homophobia in the rap genre have always been present, and it’s time artists move pass that for a discography that is humanistic and understanding towards all creeds of people. I know you can do it, J.Cole. As a fan, I want you to do better and learn. At the end of the song you said you weren’t doing enough, but as a fan who cares I’m telling you that learning and reading about these issues will open your eyes.
Below I’ve provided some links to articles and videos that have helped me shape my view this topic a little bit. I’ll also provide a link to Noname’s twitter account. Not only do I think she makes good music, but I also support her message of encouraging literacy among the black community. In the meantime, don't let this distract you from the overall movement. Breonna Taylor and other black people still need justice for the crimes committed against them.
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