J COLE GRIPPY (help me understand
Being a secular artist honestly has to be hell on earth sometimes.
I remember when “Grippy” by J. Cole came out, my friend sent it to me. I first heard it back in 2024, and I didn’t read any comments or reactions at the time. I just listened to the song for what it was. (I havent heard Cole in a minute)
I’m not even the biggest Cole fan, but I honestly didn’t think the song was bad. To me, it sounded like he adapted to the times and was just making a fun, catchy song like a lot of artists do. The song is about sex, it’s catchy, and he found a flow for it. I really didn’t see the big problem.
Fast forward to today, I listened to it again, then I finally started reading the comments, and I was kind of in disbelief seeing how many people were trashing Cole for it.
It made me think: are artists not allowed to have fun anymore?
Because honestly, if Young Thug made that exact same song, I don’t think people would have reacted the same way. If Drake made it, I definitely don’t think people would have reacted like that. People would probably just say it’s a fun record.
It feels like fans put artists in a box. They complain when somebody keeps making the same type of music and say, “Switch it up, do something different.” Then when the artist actually switches it up, those same people are like, “What are you doing? Go back to the old you.”
At some point it’s like… what do people actually want?
I get everybody has their own taste, and you don’t have to like the song. But sometimes it feels less about the music and more about people already deciding what an artist is “allowed” to make.
I feel alot of opinions are emotionally driven and group thinking.