J. Cole's 2013 Song "She Knows" Is Having a Resurgence Thanks to TikTok Trend

Image via Getty/Roy Rochlin

It’s been repeatedly proven that TikTok creators have the unique ability of taking songs from bygone eras, i.e. the 1977 Fleetwood Mac single “Dreams,” and recontextualizing them for the modern age. Now, that energy has been extended to a near-vintage J. Cole favorite.

“She Knows,” a track featuring Amber Coffman and Cults from the 2013 album Born Sinner, has—per stats shared by TikTok—inspired more than 230,000 creations on the platform. A dramatic uptick in activity surrounding the song, per TikTok, has been seen in recent weeks.

For the chart dated Aug. 24, “She Knows” was at No. 120 on Spotify’s top 200 U.S. tracks after first popping up on the chart at the beginning of this month.

Other Cole cuts currently appearing on the most recent Spotify top 200 chart include “No Role Modelz,” “Work Out,” “Middle Child,” and several Off-Season songs.

The “She Knows” trend, complete with around 1.6 billion total video views from July/August bimonthly, is largely built on the premise of pointing out situations wherein someone of personal importance is wholly aware of something the creator is hiding. Thus, “she knows.” There have been variations on the formula, as well.

Earlier this month, Cole’s manager Ibrahim Hamad addressed the TikTok-spurred resurgence of the song, saying he couldn’t believe it.

“I can’t believe ‘She Knows’ is out here streaming so crazy almost 10 years later,” he said, adding that TikTok “really be resurrecting songs.”

As of their latest update, the trend-analyzers over at Tokboard had “She Knows” at No. 94 on its current ranking of viral TikTok songs.

For more “She Knows”-inspired creations, head to TikTok, where the trend is still going strong.

These stats fit nicely into Cole’s larger 2021 picture. Earlier this month, The Off-Season was mentioned in a year-to-date report from Hits Daily Double as one of the best-performing rap albums of the year.