"Don’t buy, subscribe so you can just stream" - J. Cole seemingly addresses "AI regimes" taking over the music industry in latest song cLOUDs
J. Cole’s latest single, cLOUDs, is out now, and the rapper released the song on February 21, 2025, on his blog Inevitable. The single has not come out on any other platforms so far, and Cole has yet to share an update about the same.
DZL and Omen have served as the single’s producer, and Cole had made minor contributions to the track from his side, as he revealed in a blog post.
While netizens have already shared their responses to J. Cole’s track on different platforms, the song additionally grabbed a lot of attention for the lyrics that referred to a lot of topics. One of them was the use of AI in the music industry and how it can damage someone’s creativity. Cole addressed the same by rapping:
“Don’t buy, subscribe so you can just stream Your Content, like rent you won’t own a thing Before long all the songs the whole world sings Be generated by latest of AI regimes As all of our favorite artists erased by it scream From the way side, “ay whatever happened to human beings.”
J. Cole also shared another blog post on Wednesday, February 19, seemingly teasing the song’s release. He wrote that he would try to be in touch with everyone through his blog frequently and that he has been adjusting his life between creating music and spending time with his family.
He also wrote that he would let everyone else share something on his blog, which would motivate him to post more and keep checking it every day. He further stated:
“I’ma start with Ib and Scott and then expand from there. To anybody the squad reading, if you trying to contribute I’m taking applications.”
J. Cole revealed that he finalized a title for the single a few minutes before the release
Also known as Jermaine Lamarr Cole, the rapper shared a blog post on Friday, February 2021, announcing the arrival of cLOUDs. Notably, the runtime of the song is around four minutes, and Cole shared more details about the single by writing:
“Just wanted to share. 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.” I didn’t have a title 20 minutes ago when I decided to really put it up. But now I got one…”
Apart from the impact of AI on the music industry, J. Cole also addressed the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July last year. A report by the Associated Press stated that the attack happened during a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet hit Trump’s ear at the time.
Cole’s lyrics stated that the bullet missed Trump since God had other plans. In another portion, he referred to the rich people by rapping:
“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.”
While J. Cole’s new single has created headlines, he is also working on a new album titled The Fall Off, and a release date of the project is yet to be announced by Cole.
