The running J. Cole joke, at least on social media, is that the North Carolina rapper is so blue collar and relatable that he finds a way to relate nearly every subject matter to paying off student loans or puppy love scenarios. Of course, the joke is only one the people who crack those jokes, considering Cole wrapped up a sold-out stadium tour last year, and is less than 2 years removed from a platinum-selling album. (Cole fans catch wreck for reiterating ad-nauseum that Cole is the first rapper to go platinum with no features in a quarter-century. Listen, if your favorite rapper did that, you’d keep talking about it too.)
The truth is, Cole is blue collar. He performed a sold-out Madison Square Garden concert and appeared in an HBO special in a black t-shirt and sweats, and he quit maintaining his clean-cut hairstyle in favor of a barely controllable, twisted mane. That said, the following should come as a surprise to no one: J. Cole rides the city bus.
How often? That remains to be seen, but a picture of a bus rider snapping a selfie with J. Cole on a Queens city bus surfaced on Instagram recently, and the rapper didn’t appear to be pulling a publicity stunt or surrounded by security.
Imagine that, going platinum with no features and riding the bus. (Couldn’t help it.)
