By Odeisel
J.Cole is handling his delayed with release well. He has released his mixtapes and done his collabos and his service on tour. You can still feel the anxiousness in his verse. He’s taking it well, yes, but he’s bursting to finally have the chance to deliver on the promise that so many have heaped on him since he first started getting light and got that Roc Nation appointment. Last week we frowned on J.Cole for a lackluster track that may have been parody (we hope). He’s back on some real ish this time around with the track “Return of Simba,” a name referencing the promise of his supposed destiny as the heir of Hip-Hop dynasty.
The track is simple with the drums from Barry White’s “Deeper” chopped in half, and a spare piano with similarly spare flutes and a vocal wail. There are soft cymbal clashes but not much rhythm/pace movement on the track. There is a string-driven, orchestral bridge at the end of the track that adds spectacle. The space between the intro and when Cole’s first part that detracts from the momentum, but he regains it shortly thereafter.
The voice of James Earl Jones’ Mufassa makes the connection to the whole Simba thing. From there Cole makes a couple of references to his Jay-Z “Lineage” and how his boss’ accomplishments are driving him to carve his own niche in this rap world. Cole’s delivery undulates between smooth and rough, with emphasis added when he’s trying to make a point. Unfortunately, as Mufassa references his own sunset, Cole seems reluctant to do enough to put his boss out to pasture, inadvertently prolonging his subservient status. That’s an ongoing issue with this wave of rappers: they crave ascension but are unwilling to usurp what exists in order to come to power. Hopefully sooner rather than later they will do what’s necessary to push their generation forward.
The track isn’t mind-blowing but it’s a solid center of the road approach. In order for Cole to take that next step and really warrant the accolades heaped on him, he’s going to have to go further and start collecting scalps. Otherwise, on some Sunshine Anderson shit, we’ve heard it all before. Simba has indeed returned, but if he ever wants to actually be the Lion King, something’s got to give.
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