J. Cole is on another hot streak in 2022, popping up with impressive guest verses alongside everyone from Benny the Butcher to BIA.
Cole’s run of impressive verses this year is reminiscent of another ridiculous string of guest features he strung together back in 2018 and 2019. That streak included him linking up with artists like Ari Lennox on “Shea Butter Baby” and 6LACK on “Pretty Little Fears,” and it awarded him his first (and only) Grammy for his feature on 21 Savage’s “A Lot.” It seemed unlikely that Cole would ever be able to top a run like that, but only four months into 2022, he has already tallied half a dozen new verses that live up to the precedent he set for himself.
In Applying Pressure, the documentary that J. Cole released to accompany his latest album The Off-Season in 2021, he revealed that his 2019 features run helped him get out of his comfort zone and learn more about himself. “When you put yourself in uncomfortable moments, you find out a lot about yourself, and usually, you find that you’re capable of rising to that bar that’s set by that uncomfortable situation,” he explained. That’s evident during his 2022 run, too, as every new verse demonstrates his versatility in cadence, lyrical structure, and delivery. In the process, he’s been able to expand his repertoire by working with artists in different genres.
These features have helped to keep Cole relevant between albums, without the collaborations feeling contrived or forced. Like he wrote in his Instagram caption after “London” with Bia dropped, he only jumped onto the song because he loved it. His inclusion on Benny the Butcher’s “Johnny P’s Caddy” made sense given the kind of lyrical-minded artists they both are, and it gave the Griselda rapper his first Billboard Hot 100 entry, another testament to how Cole is still able to elevate every song that he’s on.
The subject matter in these new verses have been diverse. Like his mentor Jay-Z, Cole doesn’t frequent social media, but he still makes it very clear that he hears what people say about him online. Instead of responding in a post, though, he’s been putting his thoughts to wax and addressing common misconceptions and jokes about him with rhymes, like finally firing back at memes about his “homeless aesthetic” with emphatic boasts about his wealth and success.
J. Cole’s run of verses in 2022 has proven that he just keeps getting better over time, which is a testament to his work ethic. In the Applying Pressure documentary, Cole spoke about how he figured out what he needed to do to improve as a lyricist after being in the game for over a decade. The Carolina rapper presented a question to himself: “Are you OK with getting comfortable, chilling, mailing it in, waiting around on inspiration? [...] Did you leave no stone unturned creatively?” His answer: “Nah, I’m not cool with that.” Thus, The Off-Season was born, and that same hunger is still driving him in 2022. The lyrical exercises Cole put himself through between albums have paid off, and he’s been rapping like he has something to prove lately, even though he’s arguably already reached the pinnacle of his craft.
With the year still in full swing and already a lot of bars to count, we decided to rank every J. Cole verse in 2022 so far. These are all of his guest features on songs with other artists, plus his verses on Dreamville’s D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape.
6. “Freedom of Speech”
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New J. Cole songs are rare nowadays, so it was a treat when he gave himself an entire track on Dreamville’s Gangsta Grillz mixtape D-Day. The verse itself features his usual boasts, but this time, it also touches on his aversion to overtly flexing his wealth. “Don’t need no goofy ass Richard Mille for your bitch to tell that I’m rich as hell,” he closes the track. Cole also gets introspective, reflecting on a time when he felt like his music was “hollow,” and how far he’s come since then.
5. “Scared Money”
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There’s a narrative that Cole doesn’t usually talk shit on his songs, but that’s not true. This is the same artist who confidently asserted that he would drop his album the same day as Yeezus “just to show the boys the man now like Wanyá” on “Forbidden Fruit” back in 2013. His verse on YG’s “Scared Money” is no different, with the Carolina rapper flexing about having his own plane, buying several houses in the same neighborhood, and possessing the influence to make other rappers push back their album release dates to avoid his.
4. “Waterboyz”
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One of the most tired memes surrounding J. Cole is that he doesn’t dress like he has money. He’s the type of rapper who performs in front of thousands in Crocs and sweats, but that’s just his subtle style. So on EarthGang’s song “Waterboyz,” Cole finally flips that meme on its head and lets everyone know that he sees the jokes, taking a moment to set the record straight. “These niggas look rich but they broke, got me playin’ poor/ Please don’t get it fucked up from this homeless aesthetic/ Whole lot of homes/ And I ain’t even put up the tour, but it sold out already,” he spits with venom. He also takes this opportunity to let the game know that his “off-season” is over, before switching up his flow and reminding everyone that their favorite rapper has a long way to go “if he think that he ever gon’ catch up with Cole.”
3. “Stick”
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Gangsta Grillz tapes embody the raw, unfiltered energy of the streets, and Cole’s verse on Dreamville’s D-Day posse cut “Stick” does just that. Sounding like he’s spitting from the gutter for 24 bars, the Dreamville head honcho finds new, clever ways to highlight his wealth (with money that could spread from the South to Portland) but still reminds you he’s from Fayetteville and has more shooters than Rich Paul. This type of greasy street talk has helped define Gangsta Grillz tapes for decades, so when Cole spits bars like, “But I’ll still treat a ride through the hood like a hike through the woods, got a stick that I take with me” with DJ Drama hyping him in the background, it makes the verse that much harder.
2. “Johnny P’s Caddy”
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J. Cole and Benny the Butcher are a pairing made in lyrical rap fans’ heaven, and Cole’s verse on “Johnny P’s Caddy” does not disappoint. He taps into a pocket reminiscent of his mixtape days, which is evident from his opening line where he sets the scene for a mythical tale of a young Simba being born in the heart of rap chaos and rising to the occasion. As he chronicles his quest to “revive a sport that’s dying” because of fake stories from fraud rappers and internet gangsters, Cole reminds these imposters that what stresses them can’t phase him anymore. These flexes are put into practice when he comically spits, “Nigga want me on a song, he gon’ see the wrath of the reaper/ I’m prolly gon’ to hell if Jesus ask for a feature,” implying that it’s just in his nature to destroy tracks, even if that means showing up his lord and savior.
1. “London”
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Cole loved Bia’s “London” so much when he first heard it that he didn’t even know if he could add anything when she asked him to lay down a verse. “I didn’t even see how the song could be better after what she did to it,” he wrote in a lengthy Instagram caption the night “London” dropped. “I didn’t want to fuck nothing up! I’m grateful I ended up catching the right wave.” Well, that wave helped him rap like he lost his damn mind for over a minute. In 28 bars, he switched his flow three times, had several crazy strings of alliteration, and did it all with a slight British accent. The verse is so relentless that I had to pause on more than one occasion and ask myself, “He’s still going?” Somehow topping all his other verses lately, Cole’s “London” feature shows he’s one-upped himself yet again, pushing his technical lyrical ability to another level.
