J. Cole is back. After spending most of 2024 in relative silence following the high-profile rap battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, the Dreamville leader has re-emerged with new music and a fresh perspective. On Thursday evening, Cole dropped Clouds on his personal blog, marking his first release of 2025.
A moody, introspective track, Clouds sees Cole leaning into his singing voice while delivering some of his most thought-provoking bars to date. The song touches on politics, wealth disparity, and the state of the world, with Cole making direct references to the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the role billionaires play in exploiting societal struggles.
J. Cole Spits with Purpose
While the first verse of Clouds is heavy-hearted, the second verse is where Cole truly lets loose. “I’m that bass in your trunk, the bullet that missed Trump,” he raps. “The gun that jammed because it seemed God had other plans.” His reflections on the near-tragic event blend seamlessly with his criticism of unchecked capitalism:
“Throw it in the pan and caramelize for richness,
Served on a plate with sirloin steak to billionaires
Who don’t care the world’s gon’ break.
Long as they make money off it, pain brings profit.”
It’s clear that J. Cole has a lot on his mind, and Clouds serves as an outlet for his frustration and reflections.
A Personal Release for J. Cole
Unlike traditional single rollouts, Clouds wasn’t dropped on streaming services or with a big promotional push. Instead, Cole casually posted it on his blog with a simple explanation. “Just wanted to share,” he wrote. “Made this a few days ago, then I added a second verse and was like, ‘man I got a blog now, I can put whatever I want up there.'”
Cole also revealed that the song was put together quickly, saying, “I didn’t have a title 20 minutes ago when I decided to really put this up.” He credited DZL and Omen with production, while also noting he made some small contributions to the beat.
Is Clouds Part of The Fall Off?
The big question on fans’ minds is whether Clouds will appear on Cole’s long-awaited album, The Fall Off. He’s been teasing the project since 2018, when he dropped the single 1985, and has hinted at a 2025 release. While he hasn’t confirmed a date, he did reassure fans that he’s deep in album mode.
“I been locked in on the music while also balancing family life,” he wrote in his blog post. “It’s a juggling act that a blog post wouldn’t do justice in explaining. But with that said, I’m back tending to this garden.”
With Clouds as a promising first taste of what’s to come, it seems like Cole’s garden is flourishing once again.
