#Latepost just to kick this thing off. I mean…it’s the middle of July so I figure it’s smack dab in the middle of #noruleseason! So yeah I’ll post late, and you’ll see it when you see it; not like the post is going anywhere… If you haven’t noticed yet: I’m in a good mood. And there’s a reason for that too. And it’s playing as I write. I’m talking about Winter Schemes by Wale & J. Cole of course! But I’m not writing this just because of the song, although that has a lot to do with it. I’m writing because the whole premise of the song is…well…interesting, at least to me it is. I’m just sitting here thinking: Wale just Released an album that debuted at #1 on the charts. J. Cole has been sitting at #2 on the charts for 2 weeks, Jay-Z just released Magna Carta 5 days ago…and I’m sitting here listening to Winter Schemes like “Do these dudes even sleep?”
As for the song: It’s hot, but I guess you’re waiting for me to tell you things you don’t know right? Well, I will, but there’s gonna be a lot of rambling too, so get ready. J. Cole opens the song up, and covers everything from fame to Warm Up 2 (Maybe hinting on his next mixtape? Yeah hopefully) to the cash he just got. And it’s smooth. Nothing but bars, nothing but the truth, nothing but the same J. Cole I play everyday and I love it. And I love that he comes so hard on songs where he’s not necessarily the only one in the spotlight. Reminds me of All I Want Is You when J. Cole jumped on Miguel’s lead single and they both gave it their all. Two people who didn’t have history put it all down for the hype. And then three years later they both came back, albums later, and did it all again on Power Trip, but this time it was Cole’s lead single. And I love that. They’re so real, it’s almost tangible. Listening to Power Trip is similar to rereading a book years later and understanding things that went over your head the first time. This is the same thing. Because a couple of years ago Cole made a beat, a verse and a hook, and gave them all to Wale. He pretty much mailed him a song. I’m talking about Bad Girls Club. And that’s not something every artist would do. For example, 5 AM in Toronto comes to mind. Drake does a guest verse or hook all the time. And all of his verses are pretty solid. But every time he really goes in, and I mean kill-the-beat-and-let-it-R.I.P. go in, he does it alone. He get’s a hot instrumental, and will spend 3-5 minutes just dropping bar after bar without a care in the world. And he doesn’t share it, He doesn’t mail it to another artist with a little note that says “hey you’re a cool dude, do a verse on this and make a hit”. I’m not saying he’s wrong for not doing so. I’m just saying if I ever met him I would feel uncomfortable asking him for an autograph, or any sort of favor. But I feel like I could walk all into J. Cole’s house and go through his fridge.
And then there’s Wale. He’s another one…you hear his songs and you’re like “You know what…I could ride around the city with him, and it wouldn’t be awkward at all. We’d just be chillin’…getting into trouble. And the fact that he’s famous and I’m not wouldn’t even come up.” He’s a cool dude. You listen to The Gifted or More About Nothing and you can tell that’s the most accurate description of Wale there is, just “He’s a cool dude”. And Wale get’s on the track for 2 minutes and he does that. He lets you know he’s a cool dude, while also talking about getting a Rihanna feature on the Bad remix. He covers some more topics, mentions The Gifted and New Slaves. And that’s what gets you. You realize that they didn’t record this months ago and just decide to put it out. They both went into the booth weeks after releasing an album and days after Jay-Z did, and recorded a song! And I like that. I commend them. Because Cole wasn’t lying, I feel like they really did get rich and stay the same.
Either way, if you want to listen to or download the song, look no further than here: http://www.audiomack.com/song/dj-cos-the-kid/winter-schemes