A week ago, J. Cole released his fourth studio album, which has been long awaited and anticipated by fans. Since the release of his last album, "2014 Forest Hills Drive," (which went double platinum with no features, a phrase that has since become a meme) many people wondered if it would be his last. But Cole proved us wrong and sent his album out for pre-order a week before its official release, surprising fans once again.
In the two years fans were waiting for another album from Cole, he was living a busy but super low-key life. Between making the occasional guest concert or festival performance, Cole found the time to get married to his college sweetheart and start a family with her. Marriage and fatherhood are only a few topics he touches upon in his new album, which like in his past work, tells a story.
The album starts off with a dark brooding opening line, "I see the rain pouring down." The first track, titled, "For Whom The Bell Tolls," sets the opening tone for the album. The album's protagonist, assumed to be Cole himself, sees no future for himself. He finds himself in a situation of hopelessness and misery and doesn't see a way out of it.
The next track on the album is, "Immortal," where he continues exploring the topic of death, wondering if living unrecognized is better than dying a legend. The fact that these two opening tracks discuss death and a life of crime may have confused avid Cole listeners at first. Cole has consistently said in the past that he never sold drugs or committed crimes to get to where he is. So the question begs, who's story is Cole telling?
As the album continues, it navigates through the topics of love, fatherhood, all the while still interpolating the topic of death. One of the most important and instrumental parts of the album comes at the end of the song, "Change." Cole describes a situation in which he heard gunshots and ran, not realizing that his friend James was shot and killed in the midst of all the commotion until he saw it on the news the next day.
The last song on the album is perhaps the most important and ties the whole album together, answering any questions that he may have left about who exactly the album is about. After talking about domestic life, his child and death, Cole spills it all on the album's nine minute long title and closing track.
After constantly saying that he thinks he's going to die soon, we finally realize that this album is not told strictly from Cole's perspective. But instead from the perspective of his friend James that he mentioned earlier. The album is to James' daughter and we learn at the end of this song that the album is for his daughter's eyes only.
This album is yet another display of Cole's artistry and storytelling skills. His ability to tell another person's through music while at the same time interweaving his own personal experiences into the album is amazing. Cole's album shows people that despite the claims of him being boring, he doesn't sacrifice his artistry to gain popularity or recognition. It shows his raw talent and his lyricism.
Despite how many people try to minimize J. Cole as an artist, he will always stay true to himself. And that's rare.
