J. Cole
4 Your Eyez Only
7.5/10
Since 2010 we have seen J. Cole grow from being known as Jay- Z’s protégé who became the first artist signed to the Roc Nation label to eventually becoming one of hip-hop’s most polarizing figures during this current generation. If that isn’t enough to cement his presence take the shout out he received from rap legend and leader of A Tribe Called Quest, Q Tip who mentioned his name along with a few others as “extensions of instinctual soul”, on the group’s latest comeback project. Many of this success was kick started through great mixtapes such as “The Warm Up” and most notably “Friday Night Lights” a project which showcased listeners a great deal of promise. However, when it came time for Cole’s debut “Cole World: The Sideline Story” we were hit with a contemporary that seem to give us a little bit of what we got during his mixtape days while also trying to cater to the mainstream with tracks like “Workout” and “Can’t Get Enough”. We seen him take a different route on his next project “Born Sinner”, an album in my opinion that suffered from less than stellar delivery by the emcee himself, and a consistent low-key tone throughout many of the tracks left many listeners bored. Out of nowhere on “2014 Forest Hills Drive” Cole seemed to give us a little bit of backstory while also stepping up his delivery, but only to see simmer down as the album progresses. Nevertheless, 2014 FHD would in my opinion become Cole’s most popular album whether it was the singles that were featured or it’s ridiculous “Platinum with no features” tag that everyone still to this day this throws out in defense of the album itself. While I stand by what I said early about Cole being a polarizing figure, I do think that his albums have somewhat paled in comparison to the mixtape we were given earlier in his career.
Fast forward to now, and after a two-year haul J. Cole makes yet another surprise return with a 4th studio album that is “4 Your Eyez Only” pun intended. Fueled by two preview tracks “Everybody Dies” and more importantly the attention grabbing “False Prophets” track where he addresses his current state in the rap game while throwing a little jab at his friend Wale and surprisingly one of his biggest influences Kanye West. With all that said when you diss a rap legend like Kanye West you better make sure your overall project can live up to all the talk.
On this project it seems as if Cole is trying to give us some sort of concept piece that tells a story about his fallen friend James McMillan that once grew up alongside him in Fayetteville. And while there have been many fan theories that have surfaced around the web, I feel that many of them seem to make the concept sound deeper than what it makes itself out to be when I’m sure that on first listen even the loosest ears can pick up the overall them of this project without overthinking it especially when it is clearly presented on the last and final track self-titled track.
The album kicks off as we hear the sound of a tape being inserted as it begins to roll this leads into the beginning of “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, a darker cut with a jazzy tone and little hints of horns that progress as the track goes on. Here we get a sense that Cole or maybe the character of McMillan who he may be trying to portray is having a feeling of uncertainty and disdain as he is searching for better days along the way. However, as the bell seems to ring louder those feeling and grief seem to grow strongly as Cole feels no way out.
“Immortal” we hear talking about the drug game something that I doubt he has ever participated in. Again maybe this is him putting himself in the shoes of his friend who probably at one point felt as if nothing could potentially harm him during his tenure as a drug dealer. At the end of the song we hear Cole mention the fact that death itself is inevitable and eventually we all pass away of something, so with that being said he or his friend might as well hustle as much as they can before their time is up and the reaper calls.
“Ville Mentality” picks up the theme once again with a lush and pleasant beat. Cole brings up the notion of breaking away from the mentality of the place in which he was raised at. He we also get a snippet of McMillan’s daughter who helps brings some added layer to the song as she explains how she misses her father who passed away when she was younger. In the last verse Cole delivers a verse that states one will never give up the things such as pride and materialistic treasures that in the end mean nothing. This is him just giving us the thoughts of some of the thinking of the mentality that goes through the mines of many young men which ultimately becomes their downfall. Skip forward to the track “Change” a song that I wish could’ve come right after “Ville Mentality”. Here Cole gives off a 2pac pre “All Eyez On Me” vibe on this track through his delivery and content. Towards the latter end of the track we get another snippet of a funeral setting which without a doubt follows up on the death of McMillan. Cole preaches on the track that we as men must change our mind state if we wish to grow as it could lead them down the same path as his friend.
Up until this point many of the tracks that I discuss deal with the theme that many have theorized. Cole eventually attempts to sum it all up on the self-titled last track where in the end we are lead to believe that the whole purpose of the project is to retell the story to the daughter of McMillan in the way that it was presented to Cole by McMillan himself.
The reason why I chose to skip to the last part of the album so quickly is because the earlier tracks that I am going to talk about next seem to not follow the concept but rather focus on Cole’s life instead or just act as filler like “Déjà vu” a track with a familiar beat that comes from the popular Bryson Tiller hit song “Exchange”. Cole seems to be trying to catch the eye of a certain female who only has a thing for the small town guys. As a result, Cole counters back that maybe she should consider over the small town men because he seems to want the bigger things in life. Even though I feel this song will eventually be one of the few tracks from this album to receive some radio as time goes on, I think as the album progresses you will begin to feel that this track along with some others will kind of break away from the overall theme that Cole is trying to sell the album on. “Neighbors” is trap banger where Cole expresses how even being as clean cut as he can be, there are some that will still choose to stereotype due to him being a black man living in a wealthy white neighborhood. Throughout the track he doubts that maybe he made the wrong decision while even stating that so much for integration. One more thing to not about this track is Cole’s flow as it seems to be on point.
“She's Mine,” Pt. 1 & 2 focus on Cole’s family life over one of the best beats on the entire project. While Part 1 talks about the infatuation he has for his wife, Part 2 is a very touching track that shows him opening up and leaving himself vulnerable as he talks about his newborn who ironically was bought into this world a day before the release of this album. “Foldin Clothes” also touches upon family life but not in the way as “She’s Mine,” does. Cole I feel tries to put together a song that highlights the little things in a relationship but sort of comes off as corny and easily one of the less desirable tracks on the album.
While “4 Your Eyez Only” does make the case as a legit concept project, Cole doesn’t clearly express it in a way of a Kendrick Lamar in “To Pimp a Butterfly” or “good kid, m.A.A.d city”. Instead he would rather deliver vaguely emphatic tracks with snippets here and there to create a narrative, while expecting his listeners to sit through an 8:50 long closing track to fully get the complete message. While some may disagree I do firmly believe that Cole in some sense did live up to the talk that he had for Kanye West with a solid project. Although, this project will be primed to be yet another project from Cole to go platinum without any features, I am sure many fans will likely overhype the legacy of this one like they did with “2014 Forest Hills Drive”. However, only time will tell if they are right or wrong.
