Kdot and its not even close imo.
I enjoyed Cole when he first came out, I thought his mixtapes were great, and FNL was amazing. But to me Cole hasn't grown as an artist because he's essentially a fan. When I listen to him, I get the impression he's strictly following a blueprint that worked for other rappers. Lyrically you can tell he understood the technical merits of rappers like Nas and Jay, while missing the qualities that separate great rappers (Jay) from great lyricists (Nas). Everything is straight and to the point, as the OP said. He rarely dabbles in metaphor, and when he does it's very obvious or stale.
To be honest Cole is like a backpack version of Game: someone who constantly reminds you of classic artists due to his flow and name drops, but in the end you can't really explain "who is The Game" or "who is J Cole." I get it, he's a young nikka from a mixed race background who went to college. We've heard that over and over and over again. Yet I can't honestly say Cole has really touched me with his story, or with anyone else's.
This is where Kendrick is head and shoulders above his peers. His metaphors are great and he does a great job of expressing emotion on record. He's also a great storyteller and can really make you feel for whoever he's talking about. Whereas with Cole he seems like a kid who watches a Tarantino movie and then wants to make Tarantino movies. You can imitate the dialogue and eventually come up with some witty shyt, but ultimately you're going to miss the "essence" whenever you try to imitate others.
