“Middle Child” by J. Cole Lyrics Meaning

J. Cole considers himself a “middle child” in the rap game. In other words, he is trapped between two generations of rap artists – those from the old school and the younger, more-popular artists who may not be as appreciative of the jewels he has to drop. And as can be seen from the onset of this track, this song serves as his rant against the system.

For instance, the first verse starts off with him stating that he doesn’t use hard drugs, even though the usage of such has become a mainstay in contemporary rap music. Then he gets into the topic of wealth and basically states that being rich is useless if you don’t share the blessing with your homeys. He then delves into the fact that rappers are often encouraged to get at each other’s throat, even stating that some people desired a feud between him and Drake, who is a friend. However, J has taken the high road and as such never engages in conflict unless he feels he has a genuine reason to do so – not in the name of selling records or appeasing the masses.

And in terms of him being a “middle child”, he has accepted this reality and goes on to mention some of his famous associates from both the old school and new school. Another major theme in the song is a call for healing the social ills which plague the African-American community.

Facts about “Middle Child”

• Cole not only penned “Middle Child” but he also produced it. He teamed up with music producer T-Minus to produce this song. Before this song, T-Minus and Cole had collaborated a number of times before in the past. 2018’s “Pretty Little Fears”, one of the track’s the pair worked on.
• January 23, 2019 was the day Cole’s labels officially released this as a single.
• Few minutes before the song’s official release, Cole did something very interesting. He took to social media to share photos of famous figures who are actually middle children. Some of these famous personalities whose photos he shared with the world included Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Bill Gates and John F. Kennedy.

On which J. Cole album does “Middle Child” appear?

It can be found on Cole’s 2019 mixtape The Off-Season.

Did You Know?:

J. Cole isn’t a middle child. He is the last of his parents’ two children.