Where some peers, such as Vic Mensa, have been open in discussing the subject, Cole admits to having complicated feelings due to his unfamiliarity with the concept, which he attributes to his upbringing. It turns out he did, recording and releasing his thoughts today as the newly released “Snow On Tha Bluff.” However, rather than releasing a straightforward protest song the way some of his peers and contemporaries like Denzel Curry, Lil Baby, and YG have, Cole takes a more personal tack on the new single, talking through his reticence to enter the chat with regard to highly complex issues like police abolition. Just weeks ago, he again joined protestors, this time in his native North Carolina, to protest the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and re-released his 2014 protest song “Be Free,” leaving some fans elated and others hoping he had more to say on the subject.
Cole was exalted by fans when he appeared in Ferguson, Missouri to support protests against the extrajudicial police killing of 17-year-old Mike Brown, then capped the year with the emotive 2014 Forest Hills Drive, providing listeners a vehicle to process their complicated emotions.