With Jay-Z turning to his own business acumen in order to eat and release music, it’s not surprising that after his announcement about leaving his former employer last month, the first signee of Roc Nation is already hitting the internets with a new mix tape. It’s actually the way by which folks get made now. There’s no album on the shelf currently, but J. Cole is still one of the most talked about emcee on the scene right now – well for the last few days at least. Google it. For real.

Anyway, coming from North Carolina and riding a scholarship to St. John’s in New York, Cole had a plan before even being accepted there. From the age of 12, Cole’s had his sights on rapping for a living. And while a lot of kids think that way, the fact that he devoted much of the last decade to writing and producing his own work has set him apart. Winding up in NYC, though, was all a part of the plan. And while it took Cole more than a few days to meet with Jay Z, that should be seen as a natural step in the career of a dude that very seriously only wants one thing.

Releasing a mix tape a few years back called The Come Up, Cole subsequently focused on completing school, getting a job and working on The Warm Up. Released this past week, the disc is probably one of the more slickly put together internet efforts that I’ve come across. Immediately upon taking a look at the cover art, it’s pretty clear that Jay Z’s putting in a bit of help on the overall branding of this tape and this rapper. The understated, yet sleek appearance of the disc even translates to the production of the music.

The problem with this overly unified approach works to flatten the music on the disc. There aren’t any missteps but it’s hard, at times, to differentiate between beats. I suppose that this particular critique could just be tossed off as uniformity. And while Jay Z usually traffics in interesting producers, a few different perspectives on beat making here would have worked to the benefit of the overall mix tape.

J. Cole, while probably primed to be a star, seems to examine pretty basic ideas over this sprawling hour and eleven minute offering. Much like removing the word ‘fag’ from Rhymefest’s vocabulary would result in a reduced ability to flow, taking ‘ni***’ away from J. Cole would do the same thing to this transplanted Southerner.

The reliance on some simple ideas – and vocab – probably won’t hinder Cole’s ability to impact rap. He’s arrived fully formed. The aforementioned production, while potentially stifling to a performer seems to be easily dealt with by this emcee. It doesn’t assure that a proper full length is gonna sound alright, but it kinda hints in that direction. Riding this tape to the end of its popularity is gonna take a month or so we’ll have to wait to hear about new studio plans for a while.