Bruh... J. Cole has done tons of innovation in this genre. Yes, his style still resembles old school hip-hop but when “The Warm Up” and “Friday Night Lights” came out he was in his own lane. Here’s some things he did. 1. Chop up soulful samples with hard hitting 808s. 2. Sing a lot of his own choruses at a time when people weren’t doing it much. 3. Lyrically he’s not a gangster rapper but he tells hood stories so there’s that unique angle. 4. His subject matter alone is extremely innovative when compared to his peers

All this said niggas will still find a reasons to hate on him. Mainly because he doesn’t make “bangers” or keep a flashy persona. Which are the key ingredients in modern day hip-hop.