J. Cole's most thought-provoking lyrics are often buried in his catalogue's deepest caverns. “Ain't no way to live, do I wanna die?” he wails on the mournful “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” an angst-ridden slow jam that finds him struggling with feelings of hopelessness. On the bluesy brass of “Let Nas Down,” he responds to his hero's criticisms with humility, and he pokes fun at rap materialism over the bright, chiming beat of “Chaining Day.”