"False Prophets" is a single by American rapper J. Cole, released on December 5, 2016 along with his single " Everybody Dies". The two songs were previewed in the documentary '' Eyez''.

Background

Originally, "False Prophets" was included on Cole's fourth studio album ''

4 Your Eyez Only ''4 Your Eyez Only'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records. The album was Cole's first release with Interscope—his previous albums w ...

''. According to J. Cole's manager and producer Ibrahim "Ib" Hamad, the song did not "fit the storyline" of the album and was not a "real representation" of it. In 2018, Cole revealed that "False Prophets" was supposed to appear on his upcoming sixth studio album, ''The Fall Off'', which was scheduled for release in 2020. The instrumental of "False Prophets" was previously used by

Joey Badass Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper and actor. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he formed the regional hip-hop group Pro Era in 2011, with whom h ...

on his song "Waves". According to Badass, he gave J. Cole "his blessing" after Cole reached out and played the song for him.

Controversy

After the release of the ''4 Your Eyez Only'' documentary, which played a snippet of "False Prophets", the disses in the song were quickly noticed. Though J. Cole did not mention any names on the track, there was guessing that the first verse contained direct shots towards

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, because of lyrics about one altering public perception by the media and fans; as well as his recent hospitalization. Other lyrics had references to rappers who use

ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

s and those who "hear some new style bubblin' up, then they bite the shit". People assumed that this particularly alluded to

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

. In the second verse, J. Cole raps about a "bitter" rapper who is concerned too much about fame and acclaim to enjoy his own blessings. It was postulated that Cole was aiming at Wale, who went on a Twitter rant earlier that year rallying against critics for his inclusion on President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's summer playlist. The lyrical content in the song sparked a large debate on Twitter, with some believing that Cole was dissing West, Drake and Wale, while others suggested that he had been addressing the rap game in general.

Responses

Roughly 24 hours after the release of ''Eyez'', Wale released a song called "Groundhog Day". He directly addressed "False Prophets" and referenced J. Cole's song " Crooked Smile" as well. Furthermore, he made mention of him and Cole touring together as opening acts during

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's Blueprint 3 Tour in 2009. Later that day, the two rappers were spotted hanging out together at a

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

basketball game. In May 2019, a snippet of an alternate version of "What Would Meek Do?" by

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

featuring Kanye West was leaked. West appeared to have responded to Cole with the verse, "I'm too complex for ComplexCon / You heard Cole on that song, he was tryna hate". In the final version of the song, the lines were replaced as: "Am I too complex for ComplexCon? / Everything Ye say cause a new debate".

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control J. Cole songs 2016 singles 2016 songs Songs written by J. Cole Diss tracks Roc Nation singles