J. Cole has delved into the world of “type beats” for his most recent (and most unconventional) release: a surprise song called “Procrastination (Broke)” — listen to it below.
Rather than being released through Cole’s official Spotify and Apple Music channels, the track was uploaded to YouTube late Wednesday (January 18) by Bvtman, a relatively unknown producer from Brooklyn, New York.
The Roc Nation rap star was looking for inspiration one day when he searched “J. Cole type beat” on YouTube and came across the producer’s instrumental, as explained in the song’s cover art — a screenshot of a message the Dreamville boss sent to Bvtman.
Cole decided not to keep the song locked away in his vault after writing some rhymes to it, instead granting Bvtman permission to share it with the world as a token of his appreciation for him and other producers.
“This song should live on your channel as a thank you to you and every other producer out there cooking up and sharing their work with the world,” Cole wrote in the message. “There are a million artists out there right now, hungry and searching every day for something to spark a word, a melody, a hook, a verse, a punchline, a way to vent, or a way to CUT THROUGH.
“I was looking for anything to inspire me on a day when I couldn’t find much motivation. I searched YouTube for ‘J. Cole type beat’ out of curiosity. I noticed yours first. I pressed the play button, focused, and wrote this. This is some nonsense that would normally be kept in the vault, but I don’t want to keep the music in this condition any longer.”
“This is for you and anyone else who needs to hear it,” he added. God bless you, bro, and keep doing what you’re doing!”
A post shared by Bvtman (@_bvtman)
In an Instagram post, Bvtman shed more light on the song’s backstory, revealing that J. Cole’s longtime manager, Ibrahim “IB” Hamad, had texted him out of the blue to tell him that Cole liked his music. Needless to say, the producer was completely taken aback.
“Yo. If you know me, you know how much this post and this song mean to me. If you know me, you know that this is my final peace, my dream. “Much love to @dreamville, @realcoleworld, and @kingofqueenz25,” he captioned.
“It’s incredible how this happened. I was driving on the high with my shorty when I received a text from @kingofqueenz25 saying Cole fuccs with my beats. I can’t believe this is real life…. However, it is.”
“Procrastination (Broke),” anchored by a mellow, bluesy beat from Bvtman, captures J. Cole in lyrical exercise mode as he reflects on the challenge of maintaining the hunger that fueled his early career now that he’s achieved wealth and success. At one point, he admits to procrastinating rather than finishing his next album.
“I don’t even know if somebody gon’ hear this / Got so many songs they get lost in the endless folders of the hard drive, I wish I was more fearless / ‘Cause I just say, ‘Fuck it’ and dump all the music for n-ggas that hate it and n-ggas that use it / As fuel to push them through long nights at school,” he raps.
“Writing that last-minute paper for class that’s due in the morning / And I still relate to that procrastination for tasks / ‘Cause I need to finish this album, but hell, how many more times can I send this wooden pail down in that well / And pull it back up with the hope that it’s filled?”
In less than 10 hours, the song has received over 500,000 views. The rest of Bvtman’s YouTube channel is filled with “type beats” inspired by Kendrick Lamar, André 3000, Kanye West, Drake, Isaiah Rashad, and others.
He’s previously released several J. Cole-inspired instrumentals, including one with nearly two million plays.
“Procrastination (Broke)” is the North Carolina native’s first release since his contributions to Dreamville’s D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape, which was released in March. It came after his sixth studio album, The Off-Season, which was released in May 2021.
Cole sparked anticipation for a new project earlier this month by clearing out his Instagram page, a strategy typically used by artists to signal the start of an album rollout. While no updates have been provided, speculation suggests he is working on The Fall Off or It’s a Boy, two albums he teased as part of “The Fall Off Era” back in 2020.
Another possibility is the soundtrack to Creed III, which Dreamville is executive producing. The film will be released in theaters on March 3.
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