Wale vents about “the Music Industry It Will Take Your Soul”

CREDIT: Gety Images Wale performs at West Potomac Park on Sept. 26, 2015 in Washington, DC.

On Sunday (Jan. 29), Wale’s candor was on full display when he voiced his disdain for the music industry in a now deleted post on Instagram.

“Tired. I’m tired. I tried,” he started. “This music industry will take your soul then make you want leave … n—as don’t respect humble, n—as don’t respect intelligence. They’ll ask for ‘this or that’ and you deliver it, they’ll say it never happened.”

The DC native took aim at the media for praising rappers who exhibit negative behavior over artists who promote positivity like himself. “Let me air out some1 ppl … it’ll make headlines,” he said. “let me uplift some people it’ll get buried quicker than you can say “leanmollyxan” … they’ll kill you and then worship you when you’re gone.”

Immediately after that, Wale veered over to Twitter to voice his frustrations. “N—-s only f–k wit u when ur face on that Teeshirt …this whole shit fake,” he tweeted.

Last December, J. Cole released “False Prophets,” and fans suggested that the record was targeting Kanye West and Wale. “I got a homie, he a rapper and he wanna win bad/ He want the fame, the acclaim, the respect that’s been had/ By all the legends, so every time I see him, he stressin’/ Talkin’ ’bout, n—-s don’t f–k with him, the sh-t is depressin'”, rapped Cole.

In response to the record, Wale released “Groundhog Day.” Since then, he has dropped a barrage of songs showcasing his lyrical prowess including Folarin Like”,”Smile”, and his new Lil Wayne-featuring single “Running Back,” in advance of his forthcoming album Shine.

J. Cole Reflects on Oppression, Obama, Revolution on his new single ‘High for Hours’

J. Cole special guest performance during main stage at Bonnaroo. on 10 June 2016

J. Cole meditates on oppression, meeting with President Barack Obama and the dangers of revolution in a dense new track, “High for Hours,” released on Martin Luther King Day.  Produced by Cam O’bi and Elite, “High for Hours” boasts a simple soul-tinged beat. In the first verse, Cole reflects on American hypocrisy as it pertains to the religious justification for slavery, the celebrations surrounding the death of Osama Bin Laden and police brutality.The North Carolina MC confronts the State itself, recalling his meeting with Obama during which he asked the President why he hasn’t enacted more radical change to help African-American communities. Taking a few creative liberties with Obama’s response, Cole spits, “I got the vibe he was sincere and that the brother cared/ But dog, you in the chair, what’s the hold up?/ He said, ‘There’s things that I wanna fix/ But you know this shit, nigga: politics./ Don’t stop fighting and don’t stop believing/ You can make the world better for your kids before you leave it.'”

In the song’s final verse, Cole considers what that fight looks like, but the rapper stops short of calling for revolution. Instead, he suggests that the complete overthrow of power inevitably leads to the oppressed becoming the new oppressors. “What good is taking over,” Cole says towards the end of the song. “When we know what you gon’ do? The only real revolution happens right inside of you.””High for Hours” follows J. Cole’s latest album, 4 Your Eyez Only, which was released in December.