A "Truth to Power" lyric from J. Cole ("High for Hours")

"Feelin’ nervous, sittin’ in a room full of white folks Thinkin’ about the black man plight, think I might choke Nope, raised my hand and asked a man a question"

• J. Cole, High for Hours (Released: January 16, 2017)

Genius Annotation:

The “Black man plight” is a phrase used to describe the racial oppression young black men face at the hands of white people (especially white government) in America.

Growing up, Cole noticed he was one of the only black kids at a primarily white school in North Carolina. On “Before I’m Gone,” he rapped:

To middle-class with a backyard and my own room To bein’ the only black kid in my homeroom Academically gifted and followed my own rules

This post was generated by the Truth2Power bot, a project for MIT's CMS.614 created to archive and discuss hip-hop lyrics that speak truth to power.