You just helped prove the main theory that people do not listen to lyrics after a certain point. We never said to Shakespeare, James Baldwin, "this is too wordy" But somehow if you do decide to express yourself in a creative way, you are treated like you are speaking Japanese to the general public.
THere is always going to be a percentage that doesn't like something that requires effort even if it isn't algebra the artist is speaking, it might as well be to them.
Almost to the point that, Ice T would be considered Hard to follow. I think this has to do more so with the population being overstimulated with constant stream of media interactions through the last century. Most people growing up have a ADHD perspective in order to cope with the amount of stimulants being forced into our headspace. When all you do is listen & consume to something that was just meant to sell products & brand lifestyles, you lose your sense of critical thinking, enjoyment appreciation for art. That isn't to say that everyone should enjoy J Cole, taste is subjective to many different things. But we shouldn't deny everything that seems ambitious in hip hop. That results to place of stagnation & dilution of the artform.
A perfect example of this is, what if J Cole started doing songs that were 15 minutes? You would have people objecting to the length. But the question s why? Most on the Coli would object to it & say it's too long, without even hearing it they wouldn't experience it. Why? Because we have been forced at a early age to accept the myth that songs are meant to 2-4 minutes in length. What a coincidence that the shorter a song is the more songs you can play and the more advertising you can sell.
NONE of this is coincidence. It is the same principle why "TV shows" & "Films" are created with the same type of formula. We bring this into our life because for something to challenge us, very few can accept a different presentation. It is the same reason why so many react in anger when a film is not linear or has no story. A film isn't a book, it has no obligation for you to act as one, but most films are the modern "books" We only want simple stories with the same catalysts/motives/plot devices/ stacked together. Anything too different what happens? It is labeled pretentious, it is never seen as a expression of moving images captured by the director at the time & what he was feeling. SOmehow it is "Har dee har, this fella thinks he smarter than me, he aint! I'm on to you"
We love dosing ourselves with shyt that is becoming this:
