Wale and J. Cole’s “Poke it Out” Analysis of Campcore

Wale and J. Cole released their single, “Poke it Out” last week. On September 30, the LCR$-directed music video was released. The video went for a campcore style, showing various camping activities, such as fishing, sleeping in tents, and watching a campfire. It shows the emotions of camping in an evocative fashion.

Campcore serves as a temporary escape from society and reconnection with nature. It is similar to cottagecore, but focused on a temporary reprieve from society, rather than a permanent one. Wale represents the average city person who has never gone camping before.

The analysis

The video uses the women in an interesting fashion. Almost all of them are the only ones doing outside activities. They represent nature. By contrast, Wale is introduced driving his car in the city. He barely even acknowledging the girls, outside of the occasional high fives.

Once they leave the city, the girls all leave Wale to go do their activities. They leave him alone with his car. When they return from their fishing and football, he still does not interact with them. Even in the wilderness, he is still reluctant to interact with nature. It is not until that night that Wale even leaves the car.

Once he leaves the car and starts connecting with nature, through the campfire, one of the girls start more actively interacting with him and sleeps with him.

Wale’s Pink Space

Then Cole appears in a pink space. The only people that appear in this space is Wale, Cole, the woman, and two other people. It is intercut with other women partying back in the wilderness. Cole represents Wale’s id. The id is the animalistic side of the person. This is shown by how the woman is only there to get Wale to let his id free. Wale is letting his id take over for just the moment, as shown by how Wale converses the other two, representing the ego and superego. The ego and superego’s job is to control the id. After this scene, Wale throws red rose petals at the camera. Red rose petals represent passion and love. Him throwing the petals represent his rejection of the id’s control over him.  The video ends with Wale back in the truck, at the beginning of the video.

He is looping the story because campcore itself is a looping process of rejecting society before returning to it.

by Justin Acosta