Despite the fact that J.Cole released his gold-certified album, ‘4 Your Eyez Only’, just a month ago, he’s already back to business with a brand new cut. Making its timely appearance on Martin Luther King Day, ‘High For Hours’ came to fruition after Cole and other Black artists met with Obama to discuss ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ – an initiative designed to create support programs to help young men of colour fight the imbalances created by racial injustice.
Although oppression sticks as the focal point, Cole has no qualms in tackling a range of other issues while he’s at it. Opening with a swipe at American hypocrisy and firing shots at everything from Isis to police brutality, there’s no injustice too small for Cole to call out. But what’s most striking is the manner in which he does this. It would be too obvious to match the subject matter with spittle-laced rhymes, fuelled by aggression and bravado for the sake of coming across as a force to be reckoned with. The rapper takes a more calculated approach and knows that an eloquent and forthright flow is the most effective and powerful weapon in his arsenal if he’s to pique interest and contribute towards a real change.
It’s a mature, politically-charged track, packed with thought-provoking revelations and alternative solutions. The account of meeting Obama in the second verse is particularly revealing, but it’s all just a build up to the big revelation; the only point in the song where he raises his voice, and the only phrase he repeats as many times as a chorus: “What good is taking over when we know what you gon’ do? The only real revolution happens right inside of you.”
