“90 Proof” by Smino & J. Cole

Smino uses this song (“90 Proof”) primarily for romantic purposes. That is to say that the addressee of his lyrics is his significant other, i.e. the woman whom, it would seem, has compelled the rapper to finally adopt a monogamous lifestyle. As such, the way he uses the term “90 proof” is along the lines of pointing to his honest commitment to her.

However, J. Cole, in his verse, utilizes the term as it is traditionally understood, as a reference to liquor with a very-high level of alcoholic content. But he just mentions “that 90 proof” in passing, not with alcohol consumption being a topic he harps on.

Instead, Jermaine’s main purpose is to go about illustrating how he has in fact made it, though is not the showy type. Therefore, he can be chillin’ out in L.A. for instance, as is standard for music stars and other celebrities, but it ain’t like paparazzi or the tabloids are going to be aware of his presence. And apparently, Cole’s main goal is to paint himself as something like a humble and God-fearing, albeit well-paid, superstar.

Smino

Smino is a rapper from St. Louis who thus far has a couple of studio albums under his belt. He appears to be especially popular on the collaboration circuit and in that regard has teamed up with members of Dreamville before, most notably JID, as both are part of a crew known as Zoink Gang.

Smino also participated on a couple of tracks (“1993” and “Sacrifices”) with J. Cole in 2019.

And of course as of the release of “90 Proof”, Cole stands as the more established of the two, as he’s already dropped or participated on a number of multi-platinum hits, which at this point all happen to be from the 2010s.

Release of “90 Proof”

On 30th September 2022, “90 Proof” was officially released.

The labels behind the issuance of this track are Motown, EQT Records and Zero Fatigue, the latter of which was founded by Smino.

“90 Proof” is a part of the album “Luv 4 Rent” , which is Smino’s third album.

“90 Proof” Credits

Besides for Smino and J. Cole, the other writers of this song are Bola Johnson, Nathan Foley and the track’s producers, Monte Booker and Groove.