Just heard the song.
Like I said before it even dropped, this song is NOTHING like "Big Brother" save for the pseudo hook. Its about a fan of hip hop growing up idolizing one of the genre's master MC's and how it feels to have that MC show disappointment in you, J.Cole was honest and fair in how he viewed the situation. Again, Work Out was the song that got his album released, he felt like to have a career he was forced to make it, and Nas showed disapproval which angered Cole as Cole pointed out Nas's own history of crossover singles (You Owe Me)
Its an excellent song and I commend J.Cole for showing respect and acknowledging the pitfalls of being an artist signed to a major label who has to in some facet, sacrifice his art to get it to the masses. Like Lupe Fiasco, Cole isn't afraid to call out the bullshyt that comes with being on a Major label. This song is so much more than just "I let Nas down" it's a metaphor for how he feels he let HIMSELF down for having to even release a song like Work Out. Notice how the first bars are a re-spit of Nas Is Like, which was Nas's first single from I AM. THAT is the type of music that J.Cole, in his heart, wants to make and wants to use as a representation of his art. Work Out was merely a means to please Roc Nation and Jay-Z. Cole's entire point is that Nas, who famously quoted in his OWN first single from the controversial and racially charged Untitled
"
My lawyers only see the Billboard charts as winning
Forgetting - Nas the only true rebel since the beginning
Still in musical prison, in jail for the flow
Try telling Bob Dylan, Bruce, or Billy Joel
They can't sing what's in their soul
So untitled it is
I never change nothin'
But people remember this
If Nas can't say it, think about these talented kids
With new ideas being told what they can and can't spit"
So J.Cole as a fan of Nas and his lyrics would expect him to understand the struggle of being an artist trying his damndest to make a large enough platform for himself and his art so that it CAN be shared on a mainstream scale. Where the chasm lies is that Nas, 20 years in the game, can release whatever the hell he wants, when he wants, HOW he wants and be successful. A single like Nasty and Daughters can push Nas to Gold because his fanbase will always support him. Can Cole do 250k first week without Work Out? We'll never know the answer and you can be sure the label wasn't going to bet on it. Nas probably believed that Cole could do numbers based upon his talent and lyricism, like Kendrick Lamar did, and Cole obviously believes as such, but Nas has that power to say "this is going to represent my album and my direction", and Cole at the time did not.
#TPC
