#2014 Forest Hills Drive Album by J. Cole | Review by Irevolution01.) IntroAn emotional introduction into the album that has a very soothing feel. Rating: 7.1/10![]() 02.) January 28thA greatly classic influenced beat with a nice soft feel to it. J. Watch mickey mouse clubhouse for free. Cole speaks on himself and how he’s one of the best undoubtedly. Rating: 7.5/1003.) Wet DreamzAnother greatly classic influenced beat with a soft feel. J. Cole here speaks upon a girl that he went to school with that was sexually appealing to him to the point that she had him dreaming about her. At one point, he gets his chance. Rating: 8.1/1004.) 03' AdolescenceA nice light beat with beautiful pitched sounds. J. Cole speaks on himself and how he has changed. He also takes another stand at himself from a view of another person. Rating: 8.3/10![]() 05.) A Tale of 2 CitiezThe first trap influenced track on the record. I feel that J. Cole is someone who can do these tracks the right way with a mix of sound and lyrics. He tells a story with emotion about the life he lives (or lived at least). Rating: 7.6/1006.) Fire SquadA braggadocios type of track with a nice grimy beat that replays a sample-styled chord of some sort. Definitely the type of track you can play while driving around and chilling; a real nod-your-head kind of deal. Rating: 7.7/1007.) St. TropezA calm smoking song that J. Cole speaks on a place called St. Tropez as well as Hollywood. Rating: 7.4/1008.) G.O.M.D.A track with repeating sampled vocals and a distinct bass line with calm synths. In this song, J. Cole speaks on haters and relationships. It also addresses that no one seems to put positive emotion in towards women and things that matter. Rating: 7.1/1009.) No Role ModelzSmooth trap influenced beat with nice background synths and glitches. As obvious by the title, he’s speaking on the things he does and that he’s not truly a role model in this current day. Rating: 7.8/1010.) HelloA track with a piano and bass type of smooth beat. On this song J. Cole speaks on a woman that he wants to be with and is willing to wait for, but doesn’t want to. He’s trying to get her to notice this. Rating: 7.2/1011.) ApparentlyA slightly classic influenced track with a piano and sharp percussion. In this song J. Cole speaks about his choices and that they’re his to make. Rating: 7.4/1012.) Love YourzA snare heavy bassy track. On this track J. Cole influences you to enjoy your life and know that it’s good (even with struggle). Essentially a track like “i (Love Myself)” from Kendrick Lamar but not so hype-filled. Rating: 8.3/1013.) Note To SelfA track with a piano that starts to slowly pick up then meets with a smooth guitar. On this track J. Cole is speaking to himself and he thanks everyone who was involved with the album. Rating: N/AOverall Rating: 7.6/10This album isn’t something that will be labeled a classic, but easily a beautiful piece of work that will go down in J. Cole’s discography as a great album. J. Cole is a conundrum. On his last release, 2014’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive, the rapper shone the spotlight on his own insecurities while bulking up on bravado. One of the set’s singles 'Wet Dreamz' zoomed into the awkwardness of Cole losing his virginity. In his video for 'G.O.M.D.,' he's acutely self-aware of his mixed-raceness, positioning himself as a house negro who orchestrates an armed slave revolt on a plantation. He tackles race, fame, wealth and even his place in the rap game (see: “Fire Squad”) from a wide-eyed ground-level perspective, never going macro or unrelatable. He maintains the same “just like us” aura in his documentary/concert film J. Cole Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming, which aired Saturday on HBO. In the 90-minute doc, it’s clear Cole’s star power comes from his disregard for Instagram likes and hip-hop riches. He eschews interviews, wears no jewelry and prefers cotton tees to designer threads. While Cole places himself at the center of the Scott Lazer-directed production, he's not the star, instead choosing to cede the narrative to his hometown of Fayetteville and its denizens: the white kids who live on the better side of town, the homies on the basketball court, hood superstars, small business owners, the grizzled old-timers, working women eating lunch. At one point, his childhood friend Craig -- who just came home from a 10-year bid for drug trafficking -- provides the stories as Cole drives around in his SUV, talking about being from a small town and reminiscing on childhood memories like copping Krispy Kreme donuts before school. 'When I was growing up, It was definitely basketball players that was good enough to go to the league,' said Cole. 'I knew them; I still know them. They had all the talent in the world, but they suffered from a small-town mentality. … They couldn't see further, and that was hard to do back then. And I think it's easier to do now because they saw that it's possible.' ![]() Like all things with J. Cole, his aspirations seem more attainable than cameras show. 2014 Forest Hills Drive -- which he performs in full for the documentary -- is the most unsung success story of recent rap. The 13-track offering sold over 350,000 units in its first week; that's more than Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly or Future's DS2 did in their first weeks out. It's baffling, because Cole's wattage on-stage is blinding. His rap style has always been comfortably conversational and the live renditions here are all straightforward, but the emotion is more poignant than on wax. J. Cole naturally commands the stage, making a guest performance by Drake seem almost unnecessary. Only Jay Z's mega power is able to eclipse Cole in his own playground, but even the impressed reactions to Hov's presence aren’t equal to the erupting swells of pride that Cole receives. One attendee even places the glory on the hometown hero: 'Can you imagine somebody like me just saying, 'When I grow up, I'm gonna bring Jay Z to my small-town city of 50,000 people. I'm gonna do that.' J. Cole did that! He did that!' Cole also gets nostalgic about his homecoming gig. 'I never actually wanted to do a proper show in Fayetteville until I was big enough to sell out the Crown Coliseum,' he admits, though it's no self-serving milestone. One concertgoer notes, 'This is stuff we dreamed about. What people don't know is black performers don't get to perform in the Crown. Black performers never get to come to the Crown, like ever. I think the last black person that performed in the Crown was Tyler Perry. Like, that's all we get -- is either hockey in this motherfucker, or it's nothing for us.' Every post-show testimonial echoes a soulful message from the heart. J. Cole may be the most unheralded star in rap, but in Fayetteville, he's bigger than the Beatles. Forest Hills Drive is the address of J. Cole’s childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he grew up before moving to New York City for university. While at university in 2003 Cole’s childhood home was foreclosed on. In 2014, the rapper re-bought the house, marking Cole’s first home purchase. Cole draws inspiration from the location where he first learned to write poems and delivers a brutally honest outlook on fame and life. In an interview with Complex Magazine, Cole discusses some of the albums concepts: “It’s crazy that I chose to record it in Hollywood because it’s such a “fuck Hollywood” album. Being out there maybe contributed to [me thinking], “I’m bugging. There’s some shit that’s way more important than how many albums I sell and if I’m the best.” J. Cole does not just make statements like this he actually follows thru and proves that there are more important things than just Hip-hop by giving back to his community and allowing a family to live in his house for a couple of years to get on their feet. On 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole not only tops his previous albums, he has effectively topped all rap albums in recent years. 2014 Forest Hills Drive DownloadThe album was primarily produced by Cole himself, alongside !llmind, Vinylz, Phonix Beats and Willie B. Unlike most rap albums today it also had no features and is the first album in 25 years to be certified platinum without any features. The album was announced 3 weeks before its release, and had very little marketing, with no singles prior to its release. Unlike a lot of rappers, J. Cole does not brag about his money and does not promote drugs and violence. Instead, he tells us incredible stories of events he actually experinced throughout his life. On Forest Hills Drive, Cole explores his youth and along the way finding himself and true happiness. While Forest Hills Drive is Cole’s deepest and most personal album yet – the album has somehow transcended J. Cole and has become the album for the people. It brings out every emotion, it promotes positivity and allows you to reflect on past mistakes or hard times and lets you know that life is not easy whatever your situation. We are only human, we make mistakes, but we will learn and grow. Simply put Forest Hills Drive makes you dream bigger. The song “Love Yourz” exemplifies this beautifully, Cole reflects on the most important things in life, such as love and happiness. He raps “Always gon’ be a bigger house somewhere, but nigga feel me, Long as the people in that motherfucker love you dearly, Always gon’ be a whip that’s better than the one you got, Always gon’ be some clothes that’s fresher than the ones you rock, Always gon’ be a bitch that’s badder out there on the tours,But you ain’t never gon’ be happy till you love yours”.
There is no rap artist out there now who I want to love more than J. Cole. He seems like a great guy who is very open, which I love in aThere is no rap artist out there now who I want to love more than J. Cole. He seems like a great guy who is very open, which I love in a rapper. For example, I love guys like Drake, 808's Kanye, and Kid Cudi. I have no problem with rappers being a bit 'soft' to get stuff off their chest, but damn does he struggle when he does this. He cannot sing to save his life and whenever he has some great, personal bars, he always follows them up with something incredibly corny. For example, the track 'Wet Dreamz' is very personal and I appreciate his openness on it, but it just comes off as corny and I cannot help but laugh at the thought he decided to put it on his album. The track and 'St. Tropez', 'Hello', and 'Note to Self', are undoubtedly the worst ones here, largely thanks to the singing on those latter three. He cannot sing, yet decides to basically just sing on all three of them. Whose decision was that? Who told him he could sing? If anybody ever complimented his singing, they were lying. The beats are also just ok here. None of them are overly interesting, aside from on the four tracks that really stood out to me, 'A Tale of 2 Citiez', 'Fire Squad', 'GOMD', and 'No Role Modelz', where the beats are all very good. Otherwise, this one is a classic Cole release. Cole shows flashes of potential to drop a classic album one day, but gets bogged down in nods to legends, terrible hooks, his singing, mediocre beats, corny lyrics, and a general lullaby-type feeling. While I liked Cole World and Born Sinner when they first dropped, I eventually came to not really like either of them for the same reasons I did not enjoy this release. I was really hoping this one would be the Cole album that i would like when it drops and then continue to like for the foreseeable future, but that is sadly not the case. As I write this, the disappointment I feel is immense, as I just really want to like Cole, but I just cannot.…Full Review »
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