j-cole-kendrick

LISTEN: New tracks from Kendrick Lamar AND J. Cole

Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole have just dropped one new track apiece. They’re both called Black Friday, and they’re both intense, amazing remixes.  Kendrick delivers an aggressive, spitfire freestyle to J. Cole’s 2014 track A Tale of 2 Citiez, while J. Cole has returned the favour with Kendrick’s Alright. 

Released in tandem, the pair even sent out near-identical Tweets announcing the tracks:

It’s pretty incredible to hear these tracks; instrumental layers and samples that you know so well, with a completely new top line. And not just any top line, but Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. This exchange is actually a really cool idea – who knows, maybe we’ll hear another one.

Choice verse, from Kendrick Lamar:

“I’m yelling Mr Kanye West for President
He’d probably let me get some head inside the residence
I’m in the White House, going all out
Bumping College Dropout, god bless Americans
Nothing more influential than rap music,
I merge jazz fusion with the trap music
I mix black soul with some rock ‘n roll”

The pair have teased a collaboration for ages; let’s hope this is just the beginning. Consider these lines in Cole’s final verse:

“Dreamville in this motherfucker
Top Dawg in this motherfucker
When you and K. Dot shit dropping?
Bitch never, they can’t handle two black n**gas this clever
But this Feburary, bet shit get scary when I fuck around and drop…
*Censor beep*”

 WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Today is Black Friday in the United States, a post-Thanksgiving shopping splurge. A number of other artists have released new music today too, and for those looking to score a sweet deal, make sure to check out the incredible sales on offer from this special edition of Record Store Day.