By Odeisel

J.Cole’s rise has been gaining more traction as of late with an abundance of shows. Now that Drake’s run has culminated in a released album, the spotlight shines on Cole, who has been constantly compared and connected as perhaps the two leaders of their weight class. Cole’s fiery, closer to hood sensibility has won over a large segment of the population and he has taken to the mic to press. This time around he hops on the NO I.D.- produced “Tears of Joy” from Teflon Don for a freestyle, aptly named “No Holding Me Back.”

Cole keeps the overall somber righteous feel of the original, sans Ross’s vocal projection and Cee-lo’s soulful crooning. That’s where the comparison ends as Cole’s narrative is much more congealed and precise than Ross’, if lacking the same oomph. Cole notes the darkening tenor in the hood, where even the criminals and hoods are having hard times. Cole notes, “The city fucked up even thug n***as getting robbed, know it’s bad when the drug dealers getting jobs.”

 He does adopt a little Drake-like crooning but not enough to say it’s a style copy, simply more in fitting with the tone of production.  Cole notes that those purchases of whips and chains only lead to debit card negatives, and also how the children who grow up idolizing those fast life livers eventually come to see the failures behind the big living and how the ballers end up. Still, he doesn’t allow that to draw him into the same field of failure. As the song says, there’ no holding him back. Short, but sweet. Enjoy.

J.Cole-No Holding Me Back JCole-No Holding Me Back

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