Love Yourz By Jermaine Lamar Cole: Song Analysis

“Love Yourz” by Jermaine Lamar Cole also known as J. Cole, debuted on his platinum selling album Forest Hills Drive. It was one of many number one songs on the hip-hop and R&B charts in 2014. Artist J. Cole created this album as a personal tour throughout his life up until he became famous. With the list of thirteen songs in chronological order, “Love Yourz” is number 12. This song hit the number one charts due to the motivational message it sent out to listeners. “Love Yourz” is a positive, persuasive song that influences listeners to love and cherish their own life and possessions through positive relation and correlation between the context, audience, purpose, and text of the song.
Early on in the Forest Hills Drive album, J. Cole introduces
J. Cole’s audience can be narrowed down to the middle and lower class, consisting of everyone from teenage years to middle age adults. Throughout the song, he tells his audience to be mindful of their life’s possessions and circumstances: “Always gone be a bigger house somewhere, but n**** feel me, long as the people in that motherfucker love you dearly” (Cole). In the metaphor from the lyrics above, Cole tells his audience to look at the bright side (a house with loving people) instead of dwelling on possessions they could have (a bigger house). In a society where the lower/middle class is the majority this is extremely important to live a happy and healthy life. Materialistic items and circumstances vary, depending on the individual but acceptance of one’s own life brings peace. Financial stability and social status can be very troubling and bad for the well-being of people causing depression, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety. A sense of peace, happiness, and acceptance is good and a healthy alternative for those conditions. Before this metaphor he states, to all my n**** out there living in debt, cashing minimal checks, turn on the TV, I see a n**** Rolex and fantasize about a life with no stress” (Cole). This section from the song pinpoints his audience as he mentions the lower/middle class people who struggle paying bills and live paycheck to paycheck. In an article from CNBC Anmar Frangoul, who is a journalist for the company and has been since 2013, states that America’s middle class is being disenfranchised. The middle class has taken a hit and many families are being financially left behind. America’s majority “middle” class may eventually become America’s majority “lower” class. Frangoul’s article was published in 2015, approximately a year after the 2014 Forest Hills Drive album debut. In “Love Yourz” J. Cole’s reference to minimal checks also shows that he