The rapper’s first new track in two years started with a Google.
Sometimes, all you need is a little inspiration to get a project started.
J. Cole learned as much when he created his new song, “procrastination (broke),” with the help of a fan. It all started with a bout of writer’s block. While brainstorming ideas, the rapper looked for beats inspired by his own music on YouTube. Then, he found a track from the producer bvtman—and got to work.
Somewhere along the way, Cole recorded the song, contacted bvtman, and sent him the finished product. On Wednesday, the producer released the track on his channel. The track’s cover art shows a sweet text message from Cole, thanking bvtman for his creativity. “This song should live on your channel and serve as a thank you to you and every producer out there cooking up and sharing their work with the world,” Cole wrote. “It’s a million artists out there right now just like me, 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.”
Cole then explained his thought process while making the track. “On a day when I couldn’t find much motivation, I was looking for anything to inspire me. Out of curiosity, I typed in ‘J.Cole type beat’ into YouTube. Yours was the first I saw. I pressed play, focused, and wrote this. This is some shit that would normally stay in the vault, but I don’t want to hold onto the music like that no more. This is for you and whoever else need to hear it. God bless bro and keep doing what you do!”
“procrastination (broke)” marks Cole’s first music release in two years. His last album, The Off Season, dropped in May 2021. When fans caught wind of his new song, they flocked to Bvtman’s comment section to express their excitement. One listener wrote, “This is the coolest thing to happen to the producer community in a minute. Thank you Cole for hearing us and appreciating us. We won’t forget.” Another fan added, “This proves exactly why Cole is a legend.”
After releasing the song, bvtman shared the news on his Instagram as well. He posted the album’s cover art and wrote, “If you know me you know what this post means to me & what this song means to me. If you know me you know this is my peace finally, my dream.”
Bria McNeal is a Manhattan based journalist who is patiently awaiting B5’s revival. When she’s not writing about all things entertainment, she can be found watching TV or trying to DIY something (likely, at the same time). Her work has appeared in NYLON, Refinery29, InStyle, and her personal newsletter, StirCrazy.
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