J. Cole & Jay-Z Have a “Nice Watch”, Mediocre Song (Listen)

God I'm so tired of being disappointed in J. Cole singles. At this point it's so predictable and cliched to call one of his official singles disappointing. I want to dig "Mr. Nice Watch", his new collaboration with his Roc Nation boss Jay-Z, I really do. Hip-hop will be better off if "Cole World" does well. And yet...I've had this on repeat for an hour now and I just don't feel it. I'm sorry, but I don't.

Look at it this way. You have a "Jay-Z will rap on any track you want" card and this is how you spend it? On a semi-swagger track with a beat that sounds like a "Watch the Throne" throwaway at best? And it's not like Cole salvaged it with a sick flow. "Don't mind me boy I'm red hot / they're not / I'm over here, I'm over there, I'm everywhere they not." Really?

What weird disease does Cole have that enables him to crush free releases and flop on official singles? I'd take almost anything off "Friday Night Lights" over this, and even a few joints off his "Any Given Sunday" series. I mean, if we're going to play the "young rapper gets Jay for a verse on his highly anticipated debut album" game don't you have to take Drake's "Light Up" over this? At least that felt somewhat epic and dramatic. This just feel average.

I know the comments below are going to be filled with people calling me a hater. There's no hate here, just confusion mixed with a growing sense of fear that a rapper I love won't become the force I want him to be. Let the debate begin in 5, 4, 3....




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