On “a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e,” Cole “applies pressure” in two ways; First, by exposing broke rappers for flaunting wealth they don’t have and second, by demonstrating his skills on the mic with a verbose and dense verse.

Jermaine has discussed the superficiality of younger rappers in other songs including “1985 (Intro to ‘The Fall Off’)” where he raps

You coulda bought a crib with all that bread that you done blew
I know you think this type of revenue is never endin'
But I wanna take a minute just to tell you that ain’t true

“a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e” shares the same name as a short documentary that was released on May 10th, 2021 which chronicles the making of the album.

The song’s music video was released on May 25, 2021.