When J. Cole popped up on the LA Leakers radio show to promote his new album The Off-Season with a fiery freestyle, fans were mostly impressed by his polished flow and clever punchlines. However, one line, in particular, seems to have captured much of the attention, eliciting a wide range of reactions.
After switching the beat from Souls Of Mischief’s mid-’90s standard “93 Til Infinity” to Mike Jones’s 2005 game-changer “Still Tippin,” Cole adopts a breathless, machine-gun cadence and after picking up some steam, barks this line: “No Bill Cosby sh*t, if they’re sleeping then f*ck em.” The double entendre sent fans swarming to Twitter to post their impressions and while some were impressed, others thought the bar was in poor taste. “Bill Cosby” entered Twitter’s top ten trending topics within an hour of the freestyle dropping as fans debated whether the line was an example of dazzling wordplay or deplorable rape culture (or perhaps a little of both).
That Bill Cosby line by J Cole might legit be the hardest line of 2021 & the year isn’t over yet.
pic.twitter.com/ORiNTcb3t3
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HiphopSessions (@AllHHSessions) May 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/MaskedGorilla/status/1392551947593420800
Cole just said “no Bill Cosby shit but if ****** is sleeping then fuck em’” pic.twitter.com/ZYHhurA3Jr
— Debating Hip-Hop (@DebatingHipHop_) May 12, 2021
All of us hearing J Cole talk about Bill Cosby pic.twitter.com/M2kbFSuh90
— Pizza Dad (@Pizza__Dad) May 12, 2021
J. Cole said “ain’t got no time or no patience for lists they be making or who they debating is better, let’s face he’s one of the greatest no Bill Cosby shit but if niggas is sleeping then fuck em”
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— Dedee
(@thoughtfulbae) May 12, 2021
“No Bill Cosby shit but if niggas is sleeping then f*ck em” THIS HOW YOU COMING J COLE???
— King Wow (@wowthatshiphop) May 12, 2021
That Bill Cosby line is WILD lmaooooooooooooooo ayo. but that’s rap!
— Kazeem Famuyide
(@Kazeem) May 12, 2021
I fw with J Cole, but that Bill Cosby line feels so… pic.twitter.com/vsIVBWNC0x
— Dani (@dxnidarko) May 12, 2021
If nothing else, the freestyle certainly did its job: Generating buzz for Cole’s upcoming album. The rollout for The Off-Season, which is due this Friday, May 14, has included a Slam cover, a documentary, and even the announcement that the North Carolina rapper was set to play pro basketball in Africa. However the album is received by fans, its release week will be one of hip-hop’s most memorable for long, long time.
Watch J. Cole’s LA Leakers freestyle above.