J. Cole has shared a new video for his unexpected single, ‘Heavens EP’, which features a beat familiar to Drake fans.
Cole released The Off Season only four months ago, and the new release suggests his head is firmly back locked in music following a brief stint playing in the African Basketball League with the Rwanda Patriots. The rapper left the team in May after citing “family obligations” made him return to America.
Now he’s back in the States, and the studio, Cole has released ‘Heavens EP’, which bizarrely features the same beat as ‘Pipe Down’ from Drizzy’s new album, Certified Lover Boy.
This turn of events is likely a strange coincidence considering Drake’s album was only released a matter of weeks ago, and the beat has been circulating in hip-hop circles for a while now.
Stereogum has uncovered that ‘Pipe Down’ actually sampled Lil Wayne’s ‘Pussy Money Weed,’ which in turn sampled OutKast’s ‘Jazzy Belle’, which got the beat from ‘Prelude’ by Lamont Dozier.
Furthermore, it was used in ‘Cell Therapy’ by Goodie Mob and ‘It’s Yours’ by T La Rock & Jazzy Jay, which sampled it from Uncle Louie’s ‘I Like Funky Music’.
Hip Hop Hero’s glowing review of The Off Season said: “There isn’t much to dislike about the record. In fact, the only thing I can pick out that turns me off the LP is that it is too short, but, in truth, even that would be harsh criticism. The reality is that the album is 12 rounds of potent and pure unbridled artistry.
“Like watching Muhammad Ali dance his way across the ring, guiding himself around the vicious world in front of him, delivering bloody noses and fat lips at will and never truly settling in one place except greatness.”
Check out the video for ‘Heavens EP’, below.
