J. Cole has released a video for his recent single “Middle Child.” The T-Minus-produced track feels more like the kind of trap-inflected records that J. Cole has often been compared against—both in praise and in criticism—so the fact that it currently stands as J. Cole’s highest charting song, debuting on the Hot 100 at #4, is especially amusing. In the Mez-directed video for the track, Cole takes center stage around a series of obvious symbolic imagery, from rappers’ heads mounted on walls and black faces and body parts being sold in the meat section of a grocery store. It’s as though J. Cole cannot let himself have too much fun on an actual good beat without atoning with self-serious messaging in the video.
At any rate, “Middle Child” will likely be included on Revenge of the Dreamers III, the forthcoming full-length from Cole’s record label Dreamville. The compilation is set to feature signees such as J.I.D and Cozz alongside the likes of Vince Staples, Saba, and Smino, and rising producers Kenny Beats and Monte Booker. The album is scheduled to be released sometime this year. Watch the video for “Middle Child” below.
