J. Cole Goes On a Crazy Ride in Music Video for “Middle Child”

J. Cole at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival, New York, 2016
J. Cole at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival, New York, 2016. Photo by Carl Timpone/BFA/REX/Shutterstock (6063272as)

Symbolic, provocative and surreal – these are three words that best describe J. Cole’s music video for his latest single “Middle Child”. It’s one of his most powerful visuals to date, and it perfectly captures the lyrics of this self-reflective track.

“Middle Child” sees J. Cole wandering from one ominous location to the next, and it features a bunch of little moments that are worth a closer look. One tiny segment that got everyone talking are heads of three rappers mounted above the fireplace, with gold plates reading “Your Favorite Rapper,” “This Could Be You” and “Ask For A Feature?”

The title, lyrics and a video for this track all point at the man who’s stuck between two generations, and trying to figure out where he belongs in the modern hip-hop landscape.

J. Cole gave us an amazing example of a soul searching and self-reflection with “Middle Child”, which became his highest-charting song to date after reaching no. 4 on Billboard Hot 100.

At this point, it’s still unclear if this track is a standalone single or a part of a forthcoming release. J. Cole is currently working on several major projects, including his new studio album The Fall Off and the third volume of Dreamville Records’ compilation “Revenge of the Dreamers”.