Welcome to the 61st issue of Backseat Freestyle. This is my weekly hip-hop newsletter I send out every Friday(ish) featuring a deep dive analysis on one big thing that happened over the past seven days. I also include a roundup of links to what I’ve been listening to, reading and watching. You can check out the archive, here, and read more about me, here. If you’re already a BF subscriber, thank you for your continued support. If you’re arriving to this issue by way of a forward, LinkedIn or social media, please subscribe below. And please share this newsletter with your circle so that they can enjoy it; personal referrals go a long way toward my goals for growth. With that said, let’s get into it….

This is what’s driving hip-hop this week….

I’VE NEVER BEEN a believer in the idea of the Big 3. To me, a more accurate reflection is a Big 5 (Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Future, Nicki Minaj), in terms of influence, skill set and success across the past 15 years. Or just a King of the Mountain, considering Drake’s overall metrics and his towering volume of quantity and quality during the timeframe or Kendrick’s decorated album discography and defining battle win. This leads me to this: What exactly do we owe to Cole’s inclusion in the Big 3? To consider him over Future and Nick is to hang your hat on an anachronistic argument in favor of his lyrical ability over the former or his gender over the latter. That’s not to say Young Jermaine’s bars don’t hold weight. That’s why he’s in the conversation in the first place. But of all the artists in his generation, Cole is arguably more defined by who he isn’t as much as who he is; there’s a malleability to what he represents. He’s ten toes down, for sure. His head is also on a swivel, which can make it harder to pin him down beyond word play. Five years ago I said as much when I wrote about the draw of J.Cole and his ability to tap into the collective conscience of the moment, be it a recession in his younger years or a pandemic as an adult: It’s been asked many times before: does man make the times or do the times make the man? Perhaps that’s been the J.Cole lore all along. Now, with a recently released mixtape and a new double album—his last—just around the corner, fans are clamoring for Cole to be all things while the world is as unpredictable as it's ever been. It’s a legacy moment. Is he up to the task?

EDITOR’S NOTE: I had some technical issues with my newsletter that I’m still working through that accounted for the delay. Some of my archive posts were having format issues. Hopefully that’s fixed now and won’t affect your experience.

🚙 🚙 🚙 🚙

Respect my mind or die from lead shower.

ON HIS 41ST LAP around the sun, J.Cole gifted the world some heat to keep warm during the snowpocalypse: Birthday Blizzard ‘96. It’s a mixtape offering ahead of his forthcoming double LP, The Fall-Off. The project is brief, at just four freestyles and an uninterrupted cut of the entire set as the fifth track. Hosted by DJ Clue, the collection is powered by a handful of classic Bad Boy beats and is littered with the mixtape maestro’s best ad-libs and call outs, including the tantalizing echo refrain of Cluemaaanaaaatti at the 1:05 mark of the opener, “Bronx Zoo Freestyle,” which finds Cole flowing over Biggie’s “Victory.” 

To quote Bonsu Thompson from our groupchat: “That boy Cole is rapping his face off on his Clue Tape.”

I can’t argue there, even if others tried to on Threads. There's a ton of standout bars, from “the K’s pop like Asian rappers” to “I’m in desperate need of commas like a run-on sentence.” Throughout Birthday Blizzard ‘96, Cole proves to be as fiery as ever as he grapples with the state of hip-hop post Drake vs. Kendrick.  

It’s not the first time Cole has waded into the present day mood of the culture. He’s done it before and made (temporary) enemies out of Lil Pump and Noname in the process. But, here, there’s more force behind his words than, say, just over a year ago when he addressed the matter of the battle on “Port Antonio.” That number was more melancholic, as Cole walked a tightrope (emphasis mine below) after his own exit from the then ongoing spat.

Prior to “Port Antonio,” there was a decidedly mixed reaction to Cole’s retreat at the Dreamville Festival following “7 Minute Drill,” where he jabbed at Kendrick’s discography. To some, his speech and his decision were noble, a sign of maturity from one of rap’s top talents. To others, his action was tantamount to a betrayal of hip-hop’s code of competitiveness and a sign he was no longer worthy of Big 3 consideration.

For Cole, as he later said in lyrics on both “Port Antonio” and Birthday Blizzard ‘96, he’s now unbound by the type of judgement that rap fans tend to obsess over. 

For fans across social media, at least, that notion is far from consensus.

A sampling of recent feedback:

“Marketing plans based on bringing up a rap beef that you bowed out of, Jermaine, please. Please stop,” one fan posted responding to Cole’s “99 Build Freestyle” lyrics: The rap game been overcome with loads of marking plans/based on randomly dissing and hating on the next man.”

“I see Cole can’t read the room either…,” another posted about his drop, alluding to Drake and his decisions. 

“After listening to J.Cole’s new DJ Clue ‘mixtape,’ I’m standing by what I said…he’s just Logic with dreads,” another wrote. 

“I love Cole but I’m learning that him dropping music while the world is on fire is exactly why Noname dissed him,” yet another posted.

“J.Cole not telling JID that all that fast rapping with lil to no substance is not good for replay value is why JID won’t go platinum rn,” one wrote.

Sheesh. 

One thing, I think, you cannot say about Cole is that he’s not thoughtful. He’s been able to narrate his own journey in a way that’s wholly relatable. It’s been less about the rise to fame and more about his personal path from adolescence to adulthood. 

Another thing you can’t say about him is that he’s not ambitious. He’s taken some big swings across his albums, including with 4 Your Eyez Only and KOD. Not to mention foray into podcasting. 

Compared to his peers, whose superpowers are outsized (Drake’s melodic incantations, K.Dot’s sneering intensity, Nicki’s cartoonish personalities and Future’s Atlanta bloodline), Cole’s ability to adapt can seem quaint. It may even leave him susceptible to unwarranted criticism; sometimes it leaves him vulnerable to warranted judgement. It also positions Cole to be at his best. Hence, his proclamation that he’s free. The Fall-Out is a blank canvas for him with a runway of 10 years, according to Cole’s estimate of how long he’s been working on the project.

On the eve of the biggest release of his career, in terms of volume and importance, he has the challenge, according to some (or many, depending on your timeline), of ensuring his place in the cannon of hip-hop, perhaps adding a final punctuation to the defining rap battle of his era and…speaking on all of society’s ills.

Of course, he also doesn’t have to speak on any of this. He already has, in so many different ways, so many times before. In other words: we already know what he’s about.

Music, news, reads, podcasts and videos that I’m checking for this week.

The aforementioned Cole mixtape, Birthday Blizzard ‘96. [Listen]

Don Toliver hasn’t reached the level of success one might expect based on the type of music he makes–melodic underlined with lovestruck pangs—but he’s become a consistent force via his discography. His latest album, Octane, is a pursuit of growth (he produced three tracks on the project). Early joints to check for include “Body,” which samples Justin Timberlake, “Rendezvous” and the Travis Scott-assisted “Rosary.” [Listen]

A last lap of an album, especially one that’s announced with intention, is bound to be more a look back rather than a push forward. That’s fine by me when it comes to T.I., one of hip-hop’s all-time greats; I’d say Top 20 what you say? His “Let Me Know” is a friendly reminder from his forthcoming Kill The King LP. [Listen] 

Mike Will Made-It reteamed with Swae Lee for “Rockstar Raging.” The pair don’t cover much new ground but it’s a nice novelty record ahead of the Verzuz. [Listen] Related: MWMI’s matchup with Hit-Boy took place Friday night; I still gotta hit the replay and gather my thoughts on this iteration of the battle franchise. [Watch]

At this point in his career, The Game’s comments likely overshadow his music. But his albums are as potent as they’ve ever been aside from his misfire with Drillmatic. He’s tapped into a Soul Tape like space last year and is continuing the run this year with the same team, DJ Drama and Mike Keys, for The Credits, a deluxe companion to Every Movie Needs a Trailer. “Whatever” is getting the headlines for referencing Kendrick, but “Second Hand Smoke” and “Brick by Brick” are two standouts. [Listen]

Nicki Minaj continues her descent by cozying up to Trump. [Info] Related: And for what? Not what you might expect/or what she tried to flex. [Info] 

Billboard released its Power 100 list, filled with a mix of the usual suspects and the hot risers. [Info]

50 Cent to produce a DMX biographical podcast series hosted by Jadakiss [Info]. Related: X’s family are having their say on a new YouTube project. [Watch]

Pharrell Williams is the topic of conversation these days: he’s central to Paris Fashion week this year [Read], he was awarded one of France’s highest honors [Info], he poached Will Welch from GQ [Info] and he’s being sued again by former production pal Chad Hugo, this time, over alleged unpaid royalties [Info]. 

My fam Carl Chery has been putting some real effort into his Substack; in particular, I enjoyed his piece examining the lack of scene-stealing guest verses.[Read] 

Complex News introduced a podcast companion (only available on YouTube) to the Best Rapper Alive editorial Complex does each year. For 2025, they crowned NBA Youngboy over Playboi Carti and Malice. I think it’s a couple years late for YoungBoy (2021 and 2022 he could have challenged Tyler, The Creator and 21 Savage, respectively). But the trio certainly defined the year more than most; for me, Carti or the Clipse rapper were more deserving. ‘Plex previously named Carti’s Music their top album of the year. [Listen]

This record by Fergie Baby rings out on its own, but the extended “Good Day to be Harlem” video featuring ASAP Ferg? *Chef’s kiss.” [Watch]

I’m a sucker for a man/woman rapper collab; everytime I’ll post some shit like: I wanna hear a joint project by these two! Well, after listening to Maliibu Miitch and Rich The Kid bounce off of one another on “Do A Trick,” I wanna hear more from these two. Their flows are so different but complimentary on the track. [Watch]

The Alchemist’s bag is predictable, reliable and…so, so enjoyable. Meanwhile, his music videos often provide a different look at the Los Angeles producer. Peep “Lord Protect Me” from his latest Roc Marciano project. [Watch]

My guy (and a nice MC, in both capacities; you’ll be rewarded with some bars by the end of the clip) Anik Khan voices this short film dedicated to For Unseen Kids. If you aren’t familiar with Anik’s story, it’s a classic immigrant story, which means it’s also a classic American story. I told him he was a New Yorker before he was an American during his long-awaiting process to gain citizenship. [Watch]

Backseat Freestyle is written and produced by me, Jayson Rodriguez, impartially and independently via my company, Smarty Art. If you have any comments, feedback or questions, feel free to email me: [email protected]. If you would like to discuss sponsoring an issue of the newsletter, contact: [email protected] and check out the rates, here. And follow me elsewhere:

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