"Lion King on Ice" is a song by American rapper

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

. It was released on July 22, 2020, together with another song, "

The Climb Back "The Climb Back" (stylized as "t h e . c l i m b . b a c k") is a song by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on July 22, 2020, together with another song, "Lion King on Ice", under the title ''Lewis Street''. "The Climb Back", which was w ...

", under the title ''

Lewis Street ''Lewis Street'' is the third extended play from American rapper J. Cole. It was released on July 22, 2020, by Dreamville Records and Roc Nation. It contains the dual singles "The Climb Back" and "Lion King on Ice". The two singles were to serve a ...

''. Produced by J. Cole,

T-Minus A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

and

JetsonMade Tahj Morgan (born July 27, 1996), professionally known as jetsonmade (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer, songwriter and record executive. He has been noted as a pioneer of the growing rap scene in South Carolina and North ...

, the song finds Cole rapping about himself growing up and difficulties he faced to achieve fame, as well as his position in the rap game.

Background

J. Cole announced the release of the songs via social media on July 21, 2020, along with its cover art, stating that they are the first two songs from ''The Fall Off''. He also revealed that he was still "finishing" the album. In November 2019, Cole hinted that the album would be released in 2020. He also previously teased a project called ''

The Off-Season ''The Off-Season'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on May 14, 2021, by Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records. The album was executive produced by Cole, Moss,Ibrahim Hamad, and T-Minus. It al ...

''.

Composition

The song is rapped from the perspective of a younger J. Cole, who uses his alter ego "Young

Simba Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film ''The Lion King'', Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation's List of Walt Disney Anim ...

", over a stripped back

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

beat with high pitched vocal sampling. Cole discusses his come-up and the uncertainty he felt while trying to be successful, as well as the struggles and sacrifices he made along the way. He also talks about his childhood. In the first verse he raps about how hard-working and dedicated he needed to be in order to make it, and the obstacles he endured along the way. Towards the end of the song, Cole continues to reflect how those struggles led him to where he is today, and how far he has come. In 2018, J. Cole settled his feud with

Lil Pump Gazzy Garcia (born August 17, 2000), better known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He is one of the most prominent artists of the SoundCloud rap scene and is known for his minimalist music and hyperactive public persona. Li ...

through an interview, in which he warned Pump about what to do to keep up with his success as a rapper and not lose popularity. Fans noticed that in the song, Cole addressed Pump in particular with the lyrics, "Nigga dissed me / It was nonsense / I sat 'em down like his father / My nigga asked, 'Why you bother?' / We should've caught him and mobbed him / I said, 'We gotta move smarter' / Don't wanna be the reason for one more sad song / I tried to warn niggas they wouldn't last long / I hope that you see how they came and they want / They shots never hit but they made their attempts / May have a good year like their name on a blimp / But you know what it take to be poppin' this long".

Charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2020 singles 2020 songs J. Cole songs Song recordings produced by J. Cole Songs written by J. Cole Song recordings produced by T-Minus (record producer) Roc Nation singles Songs written by T-Minus (record producer) Trap music songs