Lights Please

Lights Please

J. Cole

J. Cole’s ode to ignorant women and the ills of the world from his second mixtape, The Warm Up, lays some pretty heavy sentiment over a sparse but engaging beat.

Some have speculated the girl can also represent hip-hop (a la Common), and J. Cole validated this interpretation in a 2013 interview.

The song is what led to Cole being the first rapper signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. Via HiphopDX:

That’s the song that got me so many meetings in the industry. It got me my meeting with Mark Pitts. Mark Pitts played it for Jay-Z. Jay-Z heard that song and that’s the reason why he even wanted to see me was from hearing ‘Lights Please.'

The song was later re-released on Cole’s debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story in 2011.