A lot of people thought that J. Cole was releasing a new album after he cleared out his Instagram page earlier this month.
That didn't happen but he did release a new single on Wednesday, January 18 called “Procrastination (Broke).”
What's different about this song, though, is that Cole used an unknown producer's beat that he found on YouTube. He explained how he came across the instrumental on the song's cover.
“This song should live on your channel and serve as a thank you to you and every producer out there cooking up and sharing their work with the world,” wrote Cole. “It’s a million artists out there right now just like me, hungry and searching every day for something to spark a word, a melody, a hook, a verse, a punchline, a way to vent, or a way to CUT THROUGH."
“On a day when I couldn’t find much motivation, I was looking for anything to inspire me," he continued. "Out of curiosity, I typed in ‘J. Cole type beat’ into YouTube. Yours was the first I saw. I pressed play, focused, and wrote this. This is some sh*t that would normally stay in the vault, but I don’t want to hold onto the music like that no more ... This is for you and whoever else need to hear it. God bless bro and keep doing what you do!”
Using an up-and-coming producer's beat is kind of a dope move by Cole, wouldn't you say? You can listen to the song below.