J Cole is the Tyrod Taylor of rap music. To many, Cole and Tyrod are in the upper echelon of their craft, but there are still many people who regard them as steaming hot garbage. While I can talk myself into thinking Tyrod Taylor is the franchise quarterback the Bills have been looking for, I find it hard to defend J Cole.
I am going into this album with an open mind and I actually enjoyed 2014 Forest Hills Drive for the most part. However I am listening to the album as I am writing this so be fully prepared for J Cole slander.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
J Cole is singing to start off the album, but this is a nice beat. Not a bad intro to the album, but nothing incredibly interesting here.
6/10
IMMORTAL
J Cole starts this track off by letting you know that he is 17 with a dollar and a dream. This is familiar territory already. This is actually a pretty good song. No super corny lines and it has a coherent "death" story.
7/10
DEJA VU
Yikes. J Cole is rapping over the same sample that was used in Bryson Tiller's hit "Exchange". Now I don't have a problem with the sample, but its odd that he would use this so soon after Tiller. This legitimately sounds like the exact same beat. Cole weaves a simple story about meeting girls in the club, and its not very interesting. It was much more suited to Tiller.
2/10
VILLE MENTALITY
Didn't feel this song at all. The beat was fine, but lyrically Cole leaves a lot to be desired. I understand the point of this song, but he just doesn't convey it very well lyrically.
"Trials and tribulations
I'm facing in this age of information, I hate this s**t
Cause n****s hit my phone when they want some s**t
B****s hit my phone when they want some d**k"
2/10
SHE'S MINE PT. 1
This is type of song J Cole does really well. Strongest track lyrically so far and very relatable. However the singing on this track was not very good and it was all together a very skippable song.
6.5/10
CHANGE
Strongest song on the album so far. J Cole talks about how his mind state has changed over the years during the first half of the song, but in the second half is where he really shines. Cole tells us about his friend James who was killed at 22 years of age.
7.5/10
NEIGHBORS
Another pretty good track from Cole. Cole deals with racism he's facing a young, wealthy black man in America. "THE NEIGHBORS THINK I'M SELLING DOPE" is the best hook on the album at this point.
7.5/10
FOLDIN' CLOTHES
For all the momentum Cole was gaining on the past few songs he promptly follows it up with possibly the worst song of the year, and maybe his career. Seriously WHOSE MANS IS THIS???
Foldin' clothes, watching Netflix
Catching up on our shows, eating breakfast
Raisin Bran in my bowl with bananas and some almond milk
I never thought I'd see the day I'm drinking almond milk
but wait there's more
I wanna fold clothes for you
I wanna make you feel good
Baby I wanna do the right thing
Feels so much better than the wrong thing
at least the beat on this song is halfway decent.I have been told that this song is a metaphor, however it is the laziest metaphor I've seen in a long time.
1/10
SHE'S MINE PT. 2
How does J Cole follow up after dropping the best song ever made about folding clothes (that also happens to be the worst song ever made about folding clothes)? Honestly I don't think I want to hear the rest of the album after Foldin' Clothes. Unfortunately it is my duty to finish what I start.
Of course J Cole follows it up with being a complete cornball.
That means that there would be no Santa Claus no more
To bring you Christmas cheer
Cause what he represents is really greed and the need
To purchase s**t from corporations that make a killin'
Because they feed on the wallets of the poor
...
What's that smell, where's your diaper s**t here
Lay on your back, don't pee right now
Or else I'll have to get you back
Cole's idea was to have the first part dedicated to his wife, and the second part dedicated to his daughter. However J Cole went full J Cole on this track.
2/10
4 YOUR EYEZ ONLY
Oh boy. 8:50 this is about to be a long ride. For the most part its actually a good song. J Cole ties this back to "Change" talking directly to his friend James' daugher. This is probably the best song on the album.
7.5/10
OVERALL
This is really a mixed bag of an album. The lyrics range from really good at certain points to being cringe-inducing, the beats are very low-key to a fault, and the topics are hit or miss. To me this a big step back from Forest Hills Drive. I can't see any of these songs becoming hits and there isn't a whole lot of tracks I would listen to more than once.
I feel like at this point J Cole is trying to carve out the same niche that Kendrick Lamar did with To Pimp A Butterfly and untitled unmastered - jazzy, lyrical rap with deep meaning - however Cole misses the mark. Kendrick was able to blend the radio-friendliness of his old music and recruited other talented musicians and producers such as funk legend George Clinton, Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, Pharrell, Sounwave, Knxledge, Terrace Martin, Flying Lotus and Bo1da to help create his vision. J Cole has relied on himself for nearly all of his production and this album suffers because of it. Cole's stubbornness results in an album that is too laid back for its own good and doesn't really amount to anything significant.
Beyond all of the J Cole memes, I think he is an artist who has shown some talent over the years. I just don't think he is in the same class as he thinks he is. J Cole is not Kanye West or Jay Z, and he is not even at the level as Kendrick Lamar. To me J Cole has cemented himself in the class of the Logic's, Wale's and Big Sean's of the world. That's not to say he's a bad artist, just one that people have masquerading as a top-tier rapper.
The last parting thought I have about this album is that if Young Thug released 4 Your Eyez Only it would be the 4th best project he put out this year after Jeffrey, Slime Season 3 and I'm Up.
49/100
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