“I don’t cancel nobody”: The reason J Cole is not happy with cancel culture
J Cole is one of the most respectable artists in hip-hop today, and he’s a lyricist who has always taken his craft seriously. Cole, akin to Kendrick Lamar, has consistently released quality music over the years during what many have perceived to be a lull in hip-hop culture or even a slight regression.
Although he has a large platform, the Dreamville founder rarely speaks about political issues and doesn’t give a running commentary about social matters. However, in 2019, the ‘No Role Modelz’ rapper spoke out about cancel culture and shared his thoughts about the idea of “cancelling” celebrities and its adverse effects.
The Grammy-nominated rapper suggested that public denunciation of controversial celebrities doesn’t help them and won’t make them change. Instead, he encouraged people to support and guide the artists in a more sensible direction without abuse. Cole also insisted that everyone makes mistakes and that simply “cancelling” someone for a misdemeanour is an unwise endeavour.
During his career, much to the anger of his fans, Cole has supported MCs like Tekashi 6ix9ine and the late XXXTentacion. The former was accused of including a 14-year-old minor in a sexual music video as well as snitching on all of his friends after getting arrested for racketeering.
Speaking about the culture’s reaction to artists like Tekashi 6ix9ine, Cole clarified, “I understand outrage. So I don’t know. If anything, it kind of makes me want to be even more empathetic to people that the world considers to be undesirable because we live in a world where everybody wants to be so quick to cancel somebody.”
Although people understandably cancel disgraced musicians such as R Kelly and Diddy, Cole highlighted how the American criminal justice system is flawed. As such, he doesn’t understand why so many artists who get guilty verdicts are abused if everyone is aware the system is rigged.
Speaking from a cancelled rhymer’s perspective about the lack of compassion, Cole added, “‘You’re looking to punish me—and don’t get it twisted, what I did was a punishable offence—but where are you talking about healing me? Where are you going to show me some compassion and some f*cking love?'”
The K.O.D. creator unveiled that if he had been aware of XXXTentacion’s domestic abuse charges, he would’ve shown him compassion and steered him toward the direction of healing. Cole suggested that to offset cancel culture, some form of rehabilitation is needed.
Speaking about holding celebrities accountable, Cole insisted, “I’m down for accountability culture. I’m cool with that. Even for myself. Everyone needs to be accountable. I don’t mind if someone got something to say about me or what I said or did. That’s all good. But cancel culture? I don’t cancel nobody.”