J. Cole Change Song Analysis

J. Cole writes and raps about just what the title of his song states; change. You can tell by his lyrics that a lot of present issues and problems have been on his mind. Through his persuasive bars smooth flow, J. Cole transports you to a feeling of disparity, and to a place where a lot of change needs to be made. In J. Cole’s first verse he starts out optimistic, stating that his intuition is telling him there will be better days, and that he is getting stronger each day. He writes that he is getting stronger because of God. He does not state this directly, but writes it inadvertently by saying that everyone else around him is terrified because they do not believe in God. Later he goes in to more depth of why the men around him are scared. He writes that they are

The bridge follows the theme of life being full of ups and downs, and no matter what happens you should keep moving forward. The bridge also states that life is too short to always follow the path of your friends. The words are saying that you must make your own path in life. The second bridge follows J. Cole reminiscing back to times where he was involved in crime. He talks about how crime has evolved from fist fights to gun violence, and how many people kill each other from small disputes. J. Cole also feels that the violence on the street is poisonous, but also points out how many of his peers believe that what goes on around them is real and unavoidable. Again, J. Cole does not follow a specific rhyme pattern, but does have more usage of slant rhyme. In J. Cole’s fourth and final verse the he recalls a real-life experience where his friend James was killed at only twenty-two years old. It’s easy to not associate death with those you know, but it can happen to anyone, especially in a situation that J. Cole has described throughout this whole song. J. Cole free verses this section and uses more internal