The Sandbox

Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole released a new album in September. It’s called Cole World: A Sideline Story. It’s damn good, people like it. The title is tight and catchy, too. (Never mind that he is dating Raven Symone from all the TV shows you hated as a kid). “Cole” (or #Cole, more likely) will be the go-to buzzword for marketers in 2012, breaking the epic five-year run of “epic.” Some predictions:

• Avicii remixes Loretta Lynn, spins “Cole Miner’s Daughter” at Ultra 2012.

• Jay-Z opens Cole Leafys, a build-your-own-salad chain targeted at health-conscious women. First franchise opens in the lobby of Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets; team’s Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov declares it “best restaurant USA.”

• Kanye West re-releases Autotune disasterpiece 808s and Heartbreak, changes title of “Coldest Winter” to “Colest Winter (But My Coat So Gucci).” Album races to 569th on the charts.

• Barack Obama chases the inner city vote in 2012, creates new agency for Urban AgriColeture.

• Rick Perry courts the Latino vote in the Southwest, proposes to replace the EPA with Exploratory Cole Commission. Promises jobs to bright science students whose names he cannot pronounce.

• Kraft Foods introduces Cole Whip, an “ebony confection” to rival Nutella, runs focus groups at Alcatraz, the 2012 home of Occupy Oakland.

• J. Cole and NBA star Josh “J-Smoov” Smith create premium ice cream truck startup “Cole n’ Smoove.”