J. Cole’s The Fall-Off is designed as a homage this roots and formative influences. Obviously, Eminem’s looming presence there is quite noticeable – from the artwork to lyrical references. Now, Cole has pointed out another one himself.
Recently, J Cole sat down with MCs Sha Stimuli and Boardwalk Brown on their No Bars Off podcast. Bar breakdowns are their speciality, so the conversation naturally went that way. One of those moments came when Cole started discussing “WHO TF IZ U” and rapped part of the verse to demonstrate his point.
First of all, this twang on that – it’s a Slim Shady twang. Even the delivery is paying homage to Eminem. I don’t know if I started it with that or if I caught it after I wrote, but at the end of the day, I’m just letting the rhymes guide me.
Either way, on this song, J Cole leans on explosive internal rhymes and a nasal tone that have become Slim Shady’s signature. Whether he did that intentionally or recognised his inspiration later, Cole does not shy away from crediting the artist who left such a mark on his style.