Last December, rapper J. Cole released his third rap record known as 2014 Forest Hills Drive. This album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, marking it his third consecutive #1 album.
Even though he is one of my favorite rappers, I was a little late on giving this album the thorough listen it deserved. Here’s what I thought, in the form of my top 3 and bottom 3 tracks from this best-selling album.
TURN UP
G.O.M.D: – …or rather “Get Off My D**k,” may have gone unnoticed by many, but it caught my ear. It starts with the harmonious looping sample of a prison worker chant sung by Branford Marsalis in the 1992 song “Berta, Berta.” The beat drops and Cole starts a chant on his own “let me tell you bout it… I wanna tell you bout it.” The chorus hits and the track turns into a modern work song that I can picture men in orange jumpsuits listening to while they sling hammers and breaking rocks in the field (or whatever it is that convicts do). It sounds like the message behind this song is simple – don’t pity me, because I don’t pity you. Even the chorus tells you this in the verse “everyday I thank the man upstairs that I ain’t you and you ain’t me.” The lyrics are old school, the beat has attitude, so listen to this when you’re feeling Alpha and you want to shrug off your haters.
Fire Squad: This song comes at you hard with no intro, straight into the meanest hook J. Cole could come up with. He is addressing you, the listener, and he’s not holding back. He calls you a ho, a bitch, and questions your loyalty to him as a fan. This is a pump up song with a sick instrumental that will make you want to spit a verse when Cole is finished. “So ahead of my time, even when I think about my future I be reminiscin” – that’s a historic line. The best part about this song is Cole’s no holds barred demeanor. In the last verse, he calls out the rappers “biting” (copying) each others flows in order to gain success, and he jokes that he’ll try to crack a smile when Iggy Azalea wins a Grammy. This song will make you feel like a king poised to conquer anyone who disagrees with you.
Wet Dreamz: I won’t even call this a song, because this is truly a story. J. Cole’s storytelling abilities are on full display with this recount of his first sex experience. The lyrics sound like a conversation you would overhear in high school, between a pair of teens flirting and looking to hook up. The hook of the song, “and I ain’t ever did this before, no,” gives the story a personal feel. It’s repetitive but it works because it tells you his main issue – he’s a virgin. But no man wants to portray his naivety to his crush, so what is he to do? This is not a party song, nor a pump up song, and it’s definitely not something you want to play with your mom in the car. But it’s a lyrical masterpiece that I think we all can relate to.
Honorable mention: No Role Modelz.
TURN DOWN
St. Tropez: On first listen, I enjoyed the beat and instrumental of this song. I was excited and thought Cole could have ripped a mean verse on this jazzy tune. This turned out to be a boring sing along about heading to stardom, “he’s on his way, he’s bout to get paid, he’s on his way to Hollywood.” Rather than relish in this fame, he’s “scared to fly” because he’s “never been that high before." All this sounds like to me is a misled rapper's cry for guidance. He’s barely a rapper on this song, making only feeble attempts at rhyming his lyrics. This is essentially an elongated interlude turned into a track. Pish posh. I won’t accept it.
03’ Adolescence: This tune opens, sounding like a fairy tale is beginning to unfold. The instrumental begins after a few seconds, and it sounds like music you’d hear playing out of a mobile in a baby’s crib. The first lyrics quote Biggie’s verse on Runnin’ as ,“I grew up a [expletive] screw up,” leading into a verse that’s more depressing than the chimes playing in the background. If you’re still listening by the time the chorus comes around (doubtful), you’ll hear Cole talk about the lows being so cold, things changing, and tears falling. I can’t think of a situation where I’d want to hear this song played. This is easily one of his worst productions.
Love Yourz: This song gets on my nerves. Cole always has one of these songs on his album – a softhearted, repetitive hymn with a steady rhythm and piano in the background. If this song were a movie it would be Dear John. This song is filled with repeated lines such as, “there’s beauty in the struggle, yes there’s beauty in the struggle” and the chorus is that goes past bordering annoyance. “No such thing as a life that’s better than yours”...really? The message behind the song tells you not to envy others and remember that someone always has it worse. Take it from me, envy the other tracks on this album and remember that this is probably the worst.
Dishonorable mention: Hello. (Should be more like goodbye).
