On a technical front, this album delivers some of the best rapping J. Eyez finds Cole tiptoeing around traps that ensnared friends, family, and heroes, fearful of loss as he greets new life. “Immortal” and “Ville Mentality” examine the dangers of the job of being a rapper and fantasize about an early exit, the former in death and the latter in retirement.
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“Neighbors” stresses over race and class as Cole moves into a nice neighborhood and worries about his wealth leading people to mistake him for a drug dealer. Cole can’t be the bull-headed wiseguy of old anymore. The songs about marriage and fatherhood dovetail with social and political commentary to explain why J. (A few times this warmth verges on schmaltz: One song’s chorus actually goes, “I wanna fold clothes for you, I wanna make you feel good.”)Ĥ Your Eyez Only isn’t just a survey of the artist’s growth into a family man, it’s a patchwork of stories about finding maturity out of necessity. The two-part “She’s Mine” finds the rapper in gobsmacked glee about the new additions and fighting back separation anxiety on a tour bus. The songs about women come from a different kind of awe and admiration now. Cole a more sentimental songwriter so much as iron out the ideological kinks of his art. Fatherhood is historically the jelly filling for even the toughest of rappers nothing warmed Eminem’s frosty facade on record like his daughter Hailie. Cole got married and had a daughter, the latter completely in secret, and the ten songs on his new album present a change in his artistry to match the changes in his story. They’re proof he buys into the defender of the faith business as much as his listeners do, but neither party seems to understand that rap flourishes better without strict rules and boundaries.Īll of this makes the ease and maturity of the new 4 Your Eyez Only a shock. Cole came back this month with “Everybody Dies” and “False Prophets,” two surprise tracks that rattled sabers at trap teens and called out unnamed colleagues he believes have lost their way. He preaches acceptance (“Love Yourz”) but is reticent to acknowledge the hurtful power of slurs (“Villuminati”). He respects women (“Crooked Smile”) unless he’s chastising them for not respecting themselves (“No Role Modelz”). He is a capable rapper and a good producer who, in arranging his discography as a monument to classic conscious rap through referential sample choices and stylistic cues, has entombed himself in the pitfalls of the stuff. The truth is Cole deserves the accolades and a fair amount of the ridicule. signing to his record label, and sells a line like “She shallow but the pussy deep” as biting social commentary. The barb suggests Cole is corny, and his fans cornier still for idolizing a guy who dreams about Martin Luther King Jr. But the saying is also a dig at the artist’s fan base, which is home to a certain cloying brand of rap crusader that sees him as a light in trying times for smart introspection in the art form. On one hand, it is a statement of chart fact: The North Carolina rapper-producer’s last album 2014 Forest Hills Drive ducked standard operating procedure with its lack of famous guest performers and cruised to a formidable 2 million equivalent units sold earlier this year. Cole went double platinum with no features” is the rare internet rap-nerd aphorism that works perfectly on both literal and satirical levels.
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“Forest Hills” garnered the rapper three of his five total Grammy nominations, with nods for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance (for “Apparently”) and Best R&B Performance (for “Planez”).“J. The tactic is not new to Cole: He stealth-dropped his third album, “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” and announced the release of his fourth album, 2016’s “4 Your Eyes Only,” with just an iTunes pre-order page.
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First come first serve,” also stating: “No phones, no cameras, no bags, no press list not guest list.” The album announcement followed five hours later. The North Carolina-born rapper had announced the show via Twitter Monday afternoon with a message with a purple background saying “NYC. The meaning of the title was unclear at press time, but, according to tweets from writer Brian Miller ( via Miss Info), who was at the session, it has three different “subtitles: Kidz on Drugz, King Overdose and Kill Our Demonz.” The album, Cole’s fifth, is called “Kod” and comes out on Friday. The album will be released on Cole’s Dreamville label via Roc Nation and Interscope. Cole surprised fans Monday with a surprise listening session at New York’s Gramercy Theatre, where he played all 12 tracks from his unannounced upcoming album - and then announced the album immediately afterward.