On “Lion King on Ice,” J. Cole reverts to his alter ego, Young Simba, but now in a much colder and darker tone. He raps about his come-up and his experience growing up in Fayetteville, where he wasn’t always certain that he would see the next day. He furthers this by reflecting on the challenges he has endured in his career and realizing that his fame and wealth haven’t erased the trauma of his past.

Parts of the song are rapped from the perspective of a young Cole, as he raps about needing to prove himself and rise to the top of the rap game, both of which the current Cole has already accomplished.

Two days before releasing this song, Cole published an essay titled “The Audacity” in which he discussed how the feeling of needing to prove himself is what drove him when he first began rapping:

When I started rapping, it was the competition that drove me. I had a burning desire to be the best in the world and to prove it with every verse.

This and “The Climb Back” were initially the first two singles from Cole’s album, The Fall Off, and were released together as Lewis Street. However, the latter was relocated to The Off-Season in May 2021.