Internet debates whether J. Cole's new song, "False Prophets," is about Kanye West

Chaos erupted online just hours after J. Cole released a new documentary this week to promote his upcoming album “4 Your Eyez Only,” as social media users pointed to lyrics about a rapper that sounded suspiciously like Kanye West.

In the song “False Prophets,” J. Cole sings about a rapper who’s “falling apart.”

“Life is a balance. You lose your grip you could slip into an abyss. Ego in charge of every move. He’s a star. And we can’t look away due to the days that he caught our hearts,” J. Cole raps. “He’s falling apart but we deny it.”

The documentary, titled, “Eyez,” which featured the song, was published on Tidal Thursday night — just a day after West was reportedly released from the hospital after spending nine days at the UCLA Medical Center. The 39-year-old rapper suffered from what one Entertainment Tonight source attributed to “sleep deprivation and exhaustion” and another source called “a mental breakdown.” 

To some listeners, J. Cole’s song appears to be a direct dig at West, who exhibited several examples of erratic behavior in recent weeks.

“When he tell us he a genius, but it’s clearer lately. It’s been hard for him to look into the mirror lately,” Cole continued in “False Prophets.” “There was a time when this n***** was my hero maybe. That’s the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take.”

Social media users pointed out that Cole once tweeted about his admiration for West, calling him “one of the greatest artists of our generation.”

Though J. Cole has not yet commented on the question of whether the song is in fact about West or someone else, that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating.

Some came to West’s defense:

While others encouraged J. Cole’s artistic freedom:

Whether you’re #TeamJCole or #TeamKanye, one thing’s for sure: There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for this argument.

In:
• Kanye West