Poem Analysis: Kevin's Heart By J. Cole

Life comes with many opportunities for mistakes, and, often, the resulting guilt is not easily avoidable. “Kevin’s Heart”, by J. Cole, effectively captures the ongoing battle between man and life’s temptations and demonstrates a lesson of how accepting and dealing with the resulting guilt can lead to growth. An example of these temptations is infidelity. Infidelity has been around for a vast amount of time, and it brings consequences that people might not know how to handle. From his use of repetition, certain word choices, and metaphors, J. Cole tells the story of a man who is faced with the consequences of infidelity.
The pre-chorus of the song starts off with the narrator, J. Cole, recognizing the fact that his significant other deserves loyalty, but he still struggles with resisting temptation. In the first line, J. Cole sings “She my number one, I don’t need nothing on the side.” J. Cole proceeds to sing “But my phone keep blowing up, temptations on my line. I stare at the screen a while before I press decline.” Instead of the man ignoring his own faults, he identifies them and admits that the internal battle between himself and those temptations is still prevalent. Those first few lines set the foundation for the rest of the song and create an environment for accountability and remorse.

Cole concludes the same verse by singing “Wishing that I can blind myself from view. And only have eyes, and only have eyes for you.” Using certain words allows listeners to visualize and grasp the concept the narrator is trying to develop. The word “blind” is stronger than other words J. Cole could have chosen to represent the urgency the man has in wanting to change. After the man starts to feel guilty and understand that he must change, he starts to wish that his current situation with infidelity was non-existent. The narrator shows how recognizing your struggles and dealing with the resulting guilt will lead to someone wanting to change themselves or their