Kaya Wagner Staff Writer
J. Cole released his popular song “She Knows” in 2013. Eleven years later, fans are discovering that the song may call out a dark connection in Hollywood.
For years fans thought “She Knows” was either about a girlfriend knowing that she was being cheated on or the other woman knowing that she ultimately was the other woman for J. Cole. After Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest, fans started taking a deeper look.
The theory comes from the line: “Rest in peace to Aaliyah/ Rest in peace to Left Eye/ Michael Jackson, I’ll see ya/ Just as soon as I die,” the song’s chorus also states that she knows and that J. Cole knows that she knows. The theory states that the “she” is actually Beyonce, with a further connection being made that her maiden name, Knowles, sounds like the word “knows.”
The theory suggests that J. Cole is saying in the song that Diddy had a hand in the deaths of Aaliyah, Left Eye, and Michael Jackson. The theory continues that two of the three artists, Aaliyah and Left Eye, were killed because they were more successful and famous than Beyonce. Michael Jackson was then killed because he knew too many of Diddy’s and Hollywood’s secrets
The connection between these stars is that they all died on the 25th, with Aaliyah dying in a plane crash in August 2001, Left Eye dying in a car accident in April 2002, and Michael Jackson dying from cardiac arrest in June 2009. The song then reveals in the chorus that Beyonce knew that Diddy organized these deaths because she was promised awards and to protect her success.
The theory then also connects a controversial moment from the 2009 VMAs. Users across TikTok and X have been either commenting on posts about the J. Cole song or making their own posts about another theory involving Diddy and Beyonce. It is thought that Taylor Swift was set to meet a fate similar to Aaliyah or Left Eye because in 2009 she was more popular than Beyonce and blocked her from a Video of the Year award. It is thought that Kayne’s “I’ll let you finish” rant was in an effort to protect Swift and get her off Diddy and Beyonce’s radar. A move by Kayne that while embarrassing, may have ultimately saved Swift’s life.
Neither theory has any evidence and is strictly just an internet theory. Both are getting people across the internet, mainly TikTok and X, thinking and talking about the dark side of the music industry.