Disclaimer: This is NOT an album review because quite honestly, I am far too biased towards J. Cole.
Jermaine Cole is more than a rapper to me. He’s the voice I want to hear when I’m going through a tough time. He’s someone who has changed my perspective on life. He’s genuine and humble. I’ve witnessed his generosity first hand in the summer of 2015 when I was lucky enough to attend one of his “Dollar and a Dream” shows in Los Angeles where he charged just a dollar for the concert. He’s an activist. He’s a husband and now a father. He’s one of the realest artists out there.
I want to start off by saying that my first listening of ‘4 Your Eyez Only’ was during a long study session in the library while preparing for a final. One thing that I love about J. Cole is that he’s one of the few artists in the industry who has a college degree. So the fact that I was in the middle of studying when I heard this album for the first time, made me feel somewhat connected to him just by knowing that he too probably had his late nights in the library.
My outlook on the album is this: J. Cole did not release this album with the means of making any radio hits.
He’s a storyteller. That’s the kind of rapper that he’s been labeled with since the beginning of his career -and it’s the truth. There’s not one song of his that I can think of that he doesn’t paint a picture of exactly what he wants his listeners to see.
In his last album, ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’, Cole told a story throughout the album from beginning to end. The story started with him as a teenager growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he then begins to make his way to success but shortly realizes that the money and fame don't make him as happy as he pictured so he goes back to his roots and the first home his family ever owned, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
What you can expect to hear on Cole’s 10-track album is a more heartfelt, genuine sound. Some fans have proposed that the story behind the album is that J. Cole is telling us about his own life as well as his friend's life who passed away due to street violence. Both his life and his friend's life parallel in ways such as they both grew up in the streets where drugs and violence were the social norm — they both meet a girl, and they both have daughters. The only difference between them is that J. Cole chose the path to go to school and chase his dream of being a rapper while his friend stayed in the streets and dealt drugs. J. Cole made it out of the hood alive but his friend wasn’t so lucky.
The verse in ‘4 Your Eyez Only’, "He said, "Listen, I got no time to dive into descriptions but I've been having premonitions just call it visions from the other side I got a feeling I won't see tomorrow like the time I'm living on is borrowed with that said, the only thing I'm proud to say, I was a father write my story down and if I pass go, play it for my daughter when she ready" and so I'm leaving you this record for your eyes only” explains that J. Cole created this record to tell his good friend’s story back to his daughter, for her eyes only.
‘She’s Mine Pt. 1’ is dedicated to J. Cole’s wife who was also his college sweetheart and ‘She’s Mine Pt. 2’ is dedicated to J. Cole’s baby girl. These two tracks are by far my favorite because my heart is so full knowing that he finally has a family. Many have compared this album to ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’ but this is a whole new side of Jermaine. His music is about to be even more real than it’s been before because now he’s going to experience real life situations as a husband and father.
This album couldn’t have been released at a better time. It was a stressful and difficult week for me but hearing this new, immensely happy J. Cole got me out of my rut. Overall, I’m so proud and happy for him and I’m really looking forward to what’s to come from him and his Dreamville team in 2017!
