forest hills was one of the greatest albums in the last decade and to you its a "light 6" lmao, if you wont believe that then explain double platinum without features
I went ahead and put it in chronological order of how the story goes. For Whom the Bell Tolls - James (Cole's friend from the Ville that was renamed to protect his identity) is good at heart and doesn't want to be a criminal. He wants something to change but the only place he can turn he crime. He prays to the lord as he sees the storm coming, and knows he's running out of options. Neighbors - Two options here: James starts to partake in illegal activities (selling dope) early in his life and is charged with 2 felonies, or setting up the rampant racism that follows people no matter how big they make it. I know this song is about the police raiding Cole's crib in real life but it can apply to James falling into the trap the system set for him. The arrogance shown ("motha fucka, I am") goes away after being caught and he's humbled a bit but feels empty. This song is like the "Wake Me Up When September Ends" of this album. It's a great song and sonically fits but has very little to do with the narrative unless you make tenuous links. Deja Vu - James finding the love of his dreams and believing he found destiny. He wants it more than anything but she's taken. She's Mine pt. 1 - James fulfills what he thinks is his destiny and starts a relationship with the love of his life. He's found the woman he loves and that she loves him back. He began to feel that void in his life being filled. In KOD Cole even talks about how people who lack love feel the need to self medicate. James now has love. Ville Mentality - James is wondering if he can go on as a criminal now that he has someone he loves so much. He wants to live a long life with her and knows that can't happen if he continues the life of crime. Like I mentioned, Cole believes self medication comes from a lack of love shown to addicts starting from a young age. James filled that hole by falling into the trap the crooked system set for him but pulls himself out of it by falling in love with a female human. Foldin Clothes - James is abandoning the gangster lifestyle to be with his girl. Finding that life pre-For Whom the Bell Tolls is a lot better when you have someone that you love with you going through it together. She's Mine pt. 2 - James is having his child, Nina, and learning what the unconditional love of fatherhood feels like. His heart is filling up and he's feeling more love than he's ever felt before. Change - James begins to spread word that change can happen in the black community internally. There is a lot of external forces causing blacks to be suppressed but there's also a lot of internal issues. But James gets caught in the crossfire and dies from what he was trying to change. Immortal - Cole remembering James. The eulogy from the end of Change leads itself into this really well. This is the biggest change. This song makes no sense being number 2 on the orignal track listing. This is obviously Cole mourning James, but when it's at 2, no one even knows what the album is about yet, now that we've heard what happened to James, we can see why Cole sounds like he's holding back tears and the song becomes much more emotional. 4 Your Eyez Only - Cole tells Nina the story of James
And people say this album has no deep lyrics, thank you for realising the actual meaning of cole's project, people over hate him yet don't realise this part of his story, and this is a great breakdown
@@rowanbrowning2934 same reason why Good Kid M.A.A.D city isn't in exact chronological order. Because it works both ways. (Note: I am not comparing Cole to Kendrick)
It's funny, I enjoyed the album and the people who disagree feel it's necessary to attempt to convince me into thinking it's bad. Relax people, we all have opinions
@@CiroqLee my guy you're responding to a 4 year old comment and sounding stupid at the same time. P.S that's a FaZe member do you think he cares for your opinion anyway?
@@brojustaim5073 lmfao bruh it’s called s a r c a s m. Idiot getting heated over a clearly sarcastic comment. hE’s A fAzE MeMBeR dO yOu ReAlLy ThInK hE cArEs AbOuT yOuR OpInIon? Hahahahaha relax child
Kendrick would've done it better. Kendrick is on a different level when it comes to flow, lyrics and creativity. He just know how to create an album, Cole clearly doesn't
KingLos Kendrick is a far better rapper than Cole. I like Cole but I don't know why they get compared so much. Kendrick has better flow, is a better lyricist, has better production on his albums, and has his albums better put together.
People don't understand. They want everything to have to be explained in a 4 page essay. Simplicity wins people over, and Cole does it better than most. He's dope and idgaf what anyone else says
But Cole does all his products on his albums and the thing is with this album he was telling a story like with the Neighbors that's a true story that shit really happen
i think folding clothes has a great meaning, but in kind of a subtle delivery. he kind of made it unknown but i think he is saying that he is doing simple things to make her life easier, and i think it added a bit of a touching feeling, might be just me but i loved the song.
Why is it a crime to be a J. Cole fan suddenly? You don't have to like his music, but don't attack others because they like him. At the end of the day, he's a talented guy. I really enjoy his music.
CyanBlurProductions Nobody said its a crime. His fanbase is just AIDs. In general, J Cole always talk about how deep he is and how you have to be intellectual to understand what he's talking about, when in reality its not deep at all. You can listen to whatever you want. J Cole needs to stop getting so much damn hype, though.
"J Cole needs to stop getting so much damn hype" Literal definition of hating. You don't dislike him for his music you dislike him because he is getting shine.
Farq offkent people generally don't like it when people get credit they don't deserve and stating so isn't hating, especially when his fans are so sensitive when you criticize him
Songs like "New Day" , "Murder to excellence" and "No Church in the wild" are light years more ambitious sonically and lyrically than any song on this album yet you gave it a higher score than "Watch The Throne". Did Kanye molest you or something?
He gave that trash Future/Drake collab that everyone's already forgotten about a higher score too. I think Fantanto just doesn''t fuck with Ye like that. It reminds me of how I feel about the band "Queen" I understand all the fuss and critical praise but they're just not for me.
Yeah I guess so. Still suprised this got a 6 Fantano usually goes H.A.M on projects with weak hooks and most of these ranged from boring to just plain awful.
You only mentioned the good songs on that album. Watch the Throne was more hype than anything. Its good but it was way hyped up for its own good. Also don't go around comparing album reviews. They aren't meant to be compared.
this album is much more deep, if you get caught up with the simple lyrics and the basic story concept, you won't understand the album. You have to look at cole's prior work to really understand what he is talking about, especially on forest hills drive, "03'adolensce' and a tale of 2 cities, the parallel stories that he sets up is the true genius here, not the story of his friend dying. And the constrating themes and messages that those two albums bring out and put together.
Why do people hate him so much? As a Cole fan, I've never thought much "intelligence" was necessary to listen to J Cole. He's not the best but he's leagues above most of the trap rappers coming out today. Hes not the most lyrical or complex rapper, he's just real about himself and raps from the heart.
ERBOCH it's because he's simple and boring and casual hip hop fans play him up to be the one of best of this time when there's so many others that are more exciting than he is. I honestly see him on the same level as trap rappers. Braindead easy to listen to and understand what he's trying to convey except he's not exciting to listen to at all.
if you think hes at the same level as trap rappers you are fucked up mane...his lyric game is beyond average for sure, or now you gonna tell me that uzi or future can rap like that? gtfoh
420diamondlife not skillwise. But in regards to depth. People call j cole a fake deep rapper and its true. Nothing he says is nuanced, or thought-provoking. It takes just as much effort to listen to uzi or future and understand what they're trying to say. It's easy listening. People just fool themselves into thinking that cole is smarter listening because he talks about "real shit".
This was my first J Cole album and I gotta say I really fucking love it. Its actually a 9/10 for me. I just feel so much while listening to it and I love the jazzy production.
MobbVillain I'm like 99% sure you're joking right now but if you aren't. I just want you to know you sound like every teenage Muslim kid who wants to be black and acts "fake deep" to smash white girls lmfao
Ryan Wilson That makes no fucking sense Edit: I have no clue if I said this as a joke or not. I don’t like J Cole so I wouldn’t have any reason to stand up for him😂
Ovando Graham well maybe if you dumb ass Cole fans didn't overrate him and make it seem like only the smartest individuals can like him than you wouldn't have been hit with reality
thedondon911911 am I missing something? All I said was I think he's great it's just my opinion. I love Kendrick, drake, joey, andre, anyone that sounds good to me I like so I dunno why you're moaning at ms
J. Cole isn't for everyone. You need to have a certain level of intelligence to understand that he isn't very good. pitchfork have never given him 7 out of ten all 6 out of tens album rating average rapper so overrated fuck jcole
He's more like the Taco Bell of rap music, gets the job done but isn't as tasteful or as fulfilling as authentic Mexican food... and he has a lot of shit songs
Dreamvile producer Elite stated that Neighbours Is about they're House come studio 'The Shelter' getting raided on suspicion of mass production of Cannabis. The crib was in a wealthy community of predominantly white people and seeing many black people coming to and leaving the crib during the production of 'Eyez' grew afraid and suspicious. This relates to the theme of systemic racism and the fact this friend the album is partly based on was actually selling doe. There's your backstory and context, make sure Anthony sees this.
Di General (Why do people always argue in my reply/comment section) Lmao fr, and it's way better lyrically and told better with many small details that make it perfect
Di General (Why do people always argue in my reply/comment section) im done, that is all that needs to be said about the entire album, lmfao i love you dude
Looking back on this 7 years later, not to sound toxic, but Fantano completely misunderstood the message of this entire album and instead of seeing it all as the description of Cole’s friends life, he views the tracks as separate entities as if they have no relation. He first misunderstands that She’s Mine Part 1 and 2 are about two different people. One about his girlfriend and one about his daughter. He also doesn’t understand that Change is written from the perspective of James, not Cole. Until The part where Cole is at his funeral. He COMPLETELY misunderstood Foldin Clothes, again assuming it is from Cole’s perspective, when it is a build upon She’s mine Part 1. James’ girlfriend is in her Third trimester, and yes, in the REAL hood, it is very uncommon and usually seen as soft for a man to fold clothes, sit and watch netflix all day with his girlfriend. But James’ who was so committed to doing the WRONG thing at first, now wants to do the right thing instead because this love has brought him newfound hope in life. Yes, It is regular for millions of Americans, but it is NOT for people in the hood moving drugs and in gang activity. Every person I have ever heard talk about 4YEO had to relisten to it after hearing the title track, and their understanding was completely different. You seem to just completely disregard this and admit that 4YEO wraps up the album and ties it all together, but attempt to make no connections of it to its past songs and instead think for some reason Coke is just rapping about himself for 9 songs then magically switches to James at random points?
Completely agree. With the context of the final track, the album is incredibly cohesive. The album opens with "For Whom The Bell Tolls," with its title alluding to funeral tolls, foreshadowing James's death. The track's lyrics and sonic elements reflect James's premonition of his demise, hinted at in the final track. It then transitions into "Immortal," which explores his involvement in a criminal lifestyle. James reflects on his friends' deaths and contemplates the significance of a meaningful death versus a meaningless life. This track shows James's awareness of his impending death and addresses PTSD in his environment. "Deja Vu" then introduces his love interest. Tracks like "She's Mine Pt. 1 & 2" and "Foldin' Clothes" continue this narrative, exploring his relationship's impact on his outlook and personal growth. "Ville Mentality" examines the influence of James's environment on his mindset. It delves into James's struggle with the mentality shaped by his environment in Fayetteville. He questions the transactional relationships and the tough-guy persona he has adopted to survive, recognizing that this mentality is unsustainable. In "She's Mine, Pt 1.", James falls in love, contrasting with his previous shallow relationships. He desires to drop his tough-guy persona but fears vulnerability. The first track on the second half of the album, "Change", is a pivotal moment on the album. Unlike the somber tracks in the first half, this initially appears to shift things to an upbeat tone and reflects James's newfound optimism, likely influenced by his newfound love. He is at peace with the idea of death but struggles with internal change. The track foreshadows his death and shows Cole witnessing it, emphasizing the futility of his previous mentality. In "Neighbours", the album briefly shifts to Cole's perspective, as he raps that he "took a little break just to annotate how [he] feel[s]". This perspective change is well placed considering the title of the previous track and also how it ends. Though it's the only song from Cole's perspective, it is thematically relevant, addressing themes of racism and social injustice. Despite being removed from their childhood environment, the need for change remains evident. "Foldin' Clothes" highlights James's character development and his relationship with his pregnant partner. He begins to embrace vulnerability and finds joy in simple acts of love, indicating a significant personal transformation. This is aptly followed by "She's Mine, Pt.2". After his daughter's birth, James experiences a new level of love and selflessness. He questions his worthiness as a father, realizing true love is selfless. However, his newfound fear of death contrasts with his earlier acceptance. The album concludes with "4 Your Eyez Only," where James reflects on his life, encouraging his daughter to break free from his cycle. Cole's final verse ties the concept together, highlighting the album's broader social themes. Cole managed to tell this man's story - how he grew up, met his partner, had his daughter, and died - in such a creative way, whilst tying in so many socially conscious themes. When you really listen you'll see that (apart from Neighbours) all songs are clearly not from Cole's perspective; Cole was not committed to a life of crime at 17 like "Immortal" describes according to tracks like "03' Adolescence", and is not a felon, nor does he have a daughter. The verses are consistently written from the vantage point of James, with his death foreshadowed on the majority of tracks. People need to appreciate this more. It's truly a masterpiece.
I feel like that corniness and plainness of Foldin Clothes is exactly what is perfect to him. Normalcy. Calm. Because his life has been anything but for so long.
As usual I felt you were being overcritical with J Cole, critiquing filler lyrics that didn't really needed to be critiqued, we've seen Kendrick, drake and even lil yachty do it and you don't seem to be catch on then. Also I'm not sure why you left reviewing the outro which was the best track imo, there were a lot of things going on that I felt was worth talking and also she knows part 2 had some great lines. I mean you point out the "cringy" and filler lyrics but forget to give credit where due. Other than that a quite decent analysis.
leafar adazeuq exactly, and J Cole doesn't always use place holder bars tho lol, that's some next level exagerrating bullshit, infact he's one of the few artists that have relatively less filler.
This album to me felt more like a mixtape. I loved it. I get why people don't like it, but then again I've been listening to Cole forever so I kind of expected it.
Also as a Cole fan I just like his flow. I like that he's not yelling in my ear about some stupid shit, or trying to rap as fast as he can on some stupid shit. He paints a picture to me in his lyrics and his storytelling, which in my opinion not a lot of rappers do nowadays.
When did this "Fuck J.Cole" bandwagon start to form? All y'all niggas WILL 100% *NOT* say that shit and him and Kendrick drop their collaboration project, *THAT AB SOUL HIMSELF CONFIRMED*. Hush.
There are plenty of rappers who are better than Cole right now, and he can be boring sometimes honestly. Still, I enjoy most of his music as well as music from guys like Kendrick, Joey, Earl, Chance, etc. It's basically a bandwagon now to hate on Cole, and it's gotten bad. People who hate Cole are now just as annoying as diehard Cole fans. It's funny actually. People who hate on Cole complain about how annoying and toxic his fans are, yet they're equally as annoying. If you don't like his music, there's no need for you to listen to it or bash it so heavily. I personally hate Hopsin, but I'm not going around cussing people out over my opinion.
the only reason why cole haters complain is because cole fans try to insult you if you dont listen to jcole. They say your not intelligent enough or you listen to uzi and yachty. When in reality i dont like jcole but at the same time i listen to kendrick, chance, earl yachty, uzi, pac ,nas,outkast, tyler, etc. His fans just try to push jcole in everybodys faces
Brian Simpson I agree that some of his fans can be irritating, but stooping down to those fans' level doesn't help anyone. You're just adding to the overall irritation and disturbance if you're going around and insulting J Cole fans. People need to learn to move on and not get so worked up about their opinions. No one is right when it comes to Cole; music is subjective.
Brian Simpson Also, that comment was directed at you btw. I'm talking about the people who engage in constant flame wars and arguments over whether Cole is good or not.
Shaun Diebel yeah I agree that going to level probably isn't the best idea but still, so many of j Coles fans are so fucking cancerous. Like I know there is some good ones but so many of them are annoying and definitely more annoying than his haters
One Dead Pixel i know he's good, I like DOOM. But his fans are mostly "woke" or "real hip hop fans". Same with Tupac, most of today's Tupac fans are cringy "real hip hop fan" teens who think they have some deep music taste because they know a few of his songs.
this is the best album of all time just behind Illmatic and he gave this a 6 lmao he should stick to pop music bitch. Cole is a legend and has the best verse of all time: ' If you go home I'm here for you baby get on the way cuz you making me crazy'' anyway another joke review I'm out.
Romy Taylor I'll agree with you there. and you bring up a good point in regards to pretty much anything: its better to have no expectations at all. have listened to the new Cudi album?
LordHipHop _ well 2014 went double platinum with no features... and by the first sales week he's bout to go more than double platinum.... so by the looks of it people are buying even more of his shit and that's not gonna happen any time soon....
I think he reallly misses the point of folding clothes. It was about the small things and doing something as normal as folding clothes and drinking almond milk weren't really normal for someone in his situation so to successfully change and become a normal person was an accomplishment and doing normal shit like watching netflix and etc are great now to do for a person he loves. However the lyrics definitely are lazy asf. But the subject is sort of a metaphor for the feeling of being normalized in such a bad upbringing
J. Cole isn't for everyone. You need to have a certain level of intelligence to understand that he isn't very good. pitchfork have never given him 7 out of ten all 6 out of tens album rating average rapper so overrated fuck jcole.
Saqib Munir He is a great talent but he still needs to find his sound. I don't think him putting out average material warrants a "FUCK COLE" He is just comfortable now because of delusional fans who say EVERYTHING he puts out is nothing short of classic so Cole doesn't challenge himself AT ALL evidently.
Incoming: J. Cole fans complaining about this review yelling shit like "GO LISTEN TO LIL UZI AND DESIIGNER, COLE IS 2 DEEP 4 YOU" or "YOU GAVE LIL BOAT A 7 BUT YOU GAVE THIS A 6?????" even though these are completely legit criticisms and honestly this album is pretty mediocre
Harnoor Singh And that is the biggest problem the cole ''haters'' have with him. We all know Cole has already shown us his best efforts, whether it FHD, FNL, born sinner, simply put his best efforts were good but not brilliant.
5/10. I wanted to try to like this album, but boy, is it rough. 4 Your Eyez Only is a testament to how ambitious concepts don't equal ambitious music. I don't mind quiet, slower production, but J.Cole can't seem to make it eventful aside from a few tracks where he picks up the tempo. The messages and concepts on paper would lead one to think it's obviously a good album, but I beg to differ because of its subpar execution and delivery. He literally has a song about folding clothes and drinking almond milk. No twist, that is all. I wouldn't mind it if he extended it into the simple things, but the poor songwriting really hurts it to the point of being cornier than early Gambino. It makes Wet Dreamz look like a masterpiece. And I can see other rappers embracing this theme and make it work, like Open Mike Eagle, or Action Bronson. And why do I say them? Because at the very least they have a discernible personality. Cole is much too mimicable, his cadence rarely vary or express more than 4 emotions. Cole's rhymes and flow are so mundane and prototypical pretty much anyone can figure out what's going on in the first few bars, and is imo a lot the reason I automatically tune him out and fall asleep to his drivel. He's like the tutorial section for to build a rap. His bars are probably at his worst here as well, with placeholder bars and 6 word hooks left and right. And don't get me started on Deja Vu: Cole should've just used a different beat altogether, Bryson Tiller did more on Exchange than he ever could there. She's Mine Parts 1 & 2 could've been condensed. Why he would spend a total of 8 minutes on the same track is anybody's guess, especially once you notice the lack of progression within. For Whom The Bell Tolls is really good, but the emotion it exudes is super misleading once you get to the next track. I will give him the title track tho; even though it's long as hell he does his best at bringing the big picture and does it well. I appreciate him wanting to tackle the subjects he did, but he does it in such a glossed over way (aside from the last track) Cole's 40 minutes feel longwinded and constantly distracted. I'd rather he put out an EP instead.
If you look in the news, Cole just recently had a newborn baby. The purpose behind the song Folding Clothes was that Cole did not want his wife to be doing things like laundry while she was pregnant. He finds joy in the seemingly insignificant duty of doing laundry so that his pregnant wife does not have to go through the trouble. He wants to show his thankfulness in any way possible, and he emphasizes that it is the small things in a relationship that go a long way.
@Derek Peng Hey. I know this comment is 4 years old (as of 21 June 2021), but I did not even think about it like that. I also love the song "Foldin' Clothes" along with the closing, self-titled track "4 Your Eyez Only."
@@UniquelyJamesEveryDay it's been 2 more years and I think the concept of folding clothes is much closer to the story of the album than you realise. First of all I am 100% sure it is mostly James pov, not Coles. It shows how James finding love makes his perspective on life change. Him being the best version of himself while doing laundry for example isnt cringe as fantano said, because it shows that he is changing as a person. It actively de-glorifies the "hood" life (which is a main point of the album) by showing that the best version of yourself is not grinding and getting rich, but finding love and caring for the ones around you. It is basically the foundation of all the change that was supposed to happen after the track change, but sadly after James daughter was born (she's mine pt2(which could be influenced by Coles newborn like you said)) he had to return to a life of crime, not for himself, but to support his daughter, so the essense of folding clothes still exists. This life of crime is what ultimately killed him, and is the main reason of the cycle of death and poverty in black neighborhoods, which James pushes his daughter to break out of in his final words on the track 4 your eyes only
@@TheFuckingKrayz THIS!! i always thought this was cole speaking as Janes too! this is him away from the hood life, enjoying the simplicity of doing everyday things for someone you love which is new to him as he's entered into this relationship. it feels good to him to do the right thing and care for his partner, than the wrong thing which is continue to involve himself in drug dealing. its an obvious bar because james himself is acknowledging the obvious difference between the two paths.
kevinn Where did you see people overrating this, all I'm hearing is "this is trash, boring af", while I found it just decent but quite touching at moments.
this album was a complete disappointment. don't even compare Cole to Kendrick. this album was average at best. Cole still hasn't had his TPAB, he hasn't had a classic period yet, while Kendrick has had 2, untitled unmastered could legit rival this album and that's incredibly sad. I expect more from Cole, I like him a lot. but y'all stop comparing him to a great in Kendrick Lamar
It needs to mentioned that untitled unmastered is just B-Sides and leftovers, so that makes it even more incredibly sad, Cole is not even close to the standards of Kendrick. That's also the reason why I don't look forward to that collaborative album, I feel like it will be soooo inconsistent
From a person with such a “high” status in reviewing music, this may be one of the worst reviews for this album. This album got me through college, listening to his emotion DEFINED the lyrics. I would give the album a soft 9 but a strong 8.
7/10. One of my favorite albums ive ever heard because it had a lot of sentimental value for me but its not anything ground breaking and its not his best project even though its one of my favorites
this dude is trippin, exaggerating. I wouldn't say its fire. however this is still a good listen especially compared to most stuff on the radio. very personal and introspective. quality music from a top notch artist.
This album was a let down from Cole, Sonically it's great, but there is some disjointed themes, and contradictory messages in a lot of Coles music. He also struggles when it comes to telling a cohesive story across an album, which is fine, tons of great artists have not had that ability, the problem with Cole is he's now tried twice, (haven't gotten around to KOD yet, so can't comment) on Forest Hills Drive, and 4 Your Eyez Only, and both times he's failed to really bring the narrative across the whole album, and that really hurts the album as a whole. Not to mention his lyrics are inconsistent, sometimes he's spitting truth, and fire, sometimes you're wondering if he even tried. This album imo is where Coles flaws are most exposed, this album shows how his current inability to create a true concept album, not even that it's not a good concept album, there are tons of bad concept albums, but that he failed to tie the album together with the story he was telling. He fell short of this, and so it sounds uneven, certain themes/tracks don't quite fit in. And while it is very good on the ears, once you dive deeper it leaves a lot to be desired, and nobody is to blame for making the deeper aspects of it matter, except Cole, because he's constantly trying to tell us he's the best, always telling us that he's got a message in his songs, all his music is telling the listener how much there is going on beneath the surface, but when you look deeper, you're left disappointed. If this album could be taken at face value, like a lot of hip-hop music, with no deeper meanings/themes, etc. it would be a much better album than it is, because it's very nice to listen to, it's got some bangers, I just want Cole to give us that extra layer that he's always hinting at.
"J Cole's music is rlly smart and introspective! sooo intelligent and profound there's just so much to talk about" "Okay, let me break down why his lyrics don't work then." "OMG you're nitpicking!! it's not that deep!!!!"
Jcole is the greatest rapper of our generation and is a top5 ever as far as I'm concerned, all his albums have gone #1 on the charts. Not to mention his last album went 2x platinum with NO MOTHERFUCKING FEATURES. Which is incredible, when you think about how many of us don't bother listening to songs with no relevant artists on that bitch. He also executively produces his albums too, he's an amazing lyricist,flow master and performer. Cole is a God
J. Cole isn't for everyone. You need to have a certain level of intelligence to understand that he isn't very good. pitchfork have never given him 7 out of ten all 6 out of tens album rating average rapper so overrated fuck jcole.
ClaytonSMS Kendrick did the same exact thing with TPAB from GKMC they literally did the same exact thing rapping about social issues and people will hop on kendricks nuts so fast because they think it's cool To say "I'm a Kendrick fan" how the fuck is Cole boring? He's never changed up his flow or tone his last album went double platinum with no features and you have guys like drake rapping about the same shit over and over and over again either in a different tone of voice or with a different vocal projection it's retarded. If drake mentions his accountant in a song one more time I may never listen to him again
This is probably my favorite rap album of all time as difficult as it is for me to think about that with so many greats before and after. I love the raw sound he uses even though many at the time thought it was boring. Admittedly I’m a sucker for concept albums and from the first listen this is one of the tightest examples I can think of. second only, in rap, to maybe Undun by roots. The way the album is not the perspective of one person but two who are simultaneously experiencing similar highs and lows despite being growing apart into completely different circumstances.
I remember the day this album came out I sat in my room with the lights out and listened front to back. By the time the headphones went off I had too many tears to count.
What you forgot to mention about foldin clothes is that his girl is pregnant that’s why he’s making a big deal about her doing all the chores…he wants her to have a break then he realizes how much he enjoys the simple things in life
I don’t know why but of all the songs Foldin clothes grew on me the most and showed the willingness of Cole to finally be a good partner and settle down being happy with a more common way of life.
I always wondered why Cole was so popular. So I gave him a listen a few months ago and his lyrics are really basic. Its not a dig at him, it just makes sense now.
Silent Protagonist I think the dude is really talented and smart but a little overrated, you got to understand the trash the mainstream has been giving us lately. I prefer JCole on that mainstream than any "lil" wack ass rapper
to put it short in my opinion I like him because at this point he seems to be the only rapper that isn't egotistic and doesn't rap about himself or his money, instead he is extremely relatable and talks about things on people's minds and even gives you valuable advice sometimes you can take out of his songs
+Dino Smash if that's why you like j cole, listen to chance. Everything you said applies, but on a higher level. Hell, he even gives away all of his music for free
I love Fantano but his Views on Kanye records are like Sisquel from Siquel and Eberts views on Scorsese films he's almost always way off and history ends up proving him wrong every time.
Carl he views albums objectively He doesn't give a fuck if kanye dropped it or someone else dropped it MBDTF is hella overrated Get some new shit to say
Obviously this isn't touching Forest Hills, but it wasn't meant to. As you can tell from his verse on DJ Khaled's album alone, he's gone through some shit, we learn his friend died, we learn he has a daughter on the way and this album is meant for "her eyes only". Wasn't meant to be a classic, and it definitely wasn't but if you take your mindset away from all the "J. Cole needs to do hella numbers and his album needed to be legendary to assert himself as the greatest rapper alive" shit, the album is incredibly cohesive, sounds great, and is lyrically solid. As for his "greatness", Sideline Story turned out to be mediocre, and Born Sinner was a dope album but nothing classic. As of right now, for current rappers, Kendrick has an incrdible first album, one of the best hip hop albums of all time in GKMC, and one of the greatest albums just in terms of conciousness under his belt. Lupe Fiasco and Pusha T are as lyrically talented as anybody who's ever rapped, J. Cole will never go down as one of the greats from this generation or any generation. But he's still my favorite artist, because it's likely that since giving TPAB multiple listens over a year ago to dissect it, I will never listen to it again. Now, past dissecting the album, I have listened to this album quite a bit already. Him having a great, nice sounding album that has its lyricality and is way better than all the garbage rap we are bombarded with 24/7 is incredibly refreshing, since almost literally every newer rapper now sees how easily fame and fortune can be made through that shit. He's at a point in his life where he felt this is the album he needed to make, and I can definitely accept that. And don't treat this like a 21 savage album, doing live reactions with bigass speakers and shit lmao, listen to it with your headphones, really take everything in, the jazzy sounds, the drums, what he's saying, etc.
Joe Dorben See the issue with your statement is you fail to mention any other of J Coles work PEOPLE please account for Coles The Come Up, The Warm up and Friday Night Lights before you going into how " A sideline Story" is Mediocre. People say he is overrated listen to his OLD OLD shot before your formulate an opinion and tell me how overated he is.
Dx Void The point is that his commercial shit wasnt anything special until FHD. He was a sellout. If you listen to The Comeback Season youll find some pretty great shit even content and substance wise. However, what Drake had become commerically is what makes him such a big sellout and is why I hate him so much. Friday Night Lights and The Warm Up were dope, but even if he had decided to put out Friday Night Lights instead of Sideline Story, that still wouldn't change the fact that he's not gonna ever be recognized as one of the greatest rappers of all time, and people will never collectively think of him as better than Kendrick, or other guys from this generation
As of right now, J Cole is way better and more successful than lupe fiasco and pusha T. Kendrick is both more creative and more lyrically gifted than cole. Cole has already established himself as one of the respectable greatest in "hip hop" for this generation.
Lmaooo I actually liked the song, didn't seem super serious, but it's fun. He's not just talking about folding clothes he's talking about just being present. If you've ever felt even mild dissociative symptoms and shit, being present sometimes so therapeutic. People search for crazy shit to feel in the moment but sometimes doing simple shit is what you need. Makes you value the bigger things. It's just a fun song not super deep or complex or anything and still topical talking about coming to age and domestic life so fits thematically in the album. I thought the almond milk line was funny as fuck even if it was technically bad. I just like that was a track not taking himself too seriously, being real, and I get it.
Cedric Hank Benson I'm gonna assume this is a troll as I can't imagine someone who rate it ten and also no one has dabbed besides white children in fucking ages
Nigga trust me, people still dab. Come to my college university. People from all colors bro not white. And nah I legit think my nigga coles album is a 10.
Cedric Hank Benson This is most definitely a 10. Cole doesn't explore new horizons of music. Take his counterpart, Kendrick, for example, Kendrick uses a wide variety of instrumentation to get his point across. This album could be put into forest hill drive and will fit in perfectly, and that's not a good thing. Other artists show the evolution of their music through each album (i.e. Kanye, Kendrick, Ocean, just to name a few). Cole is a great artist, his flow is decent, he never explores new horizons however. People giving him too much credit, more than he deserves. Again he is a great artist due to the fact that he can speak out against he wrongs of society, but he isn't a philosopher either.
Ok so I've watched a good amount of your reviews and I gotta say I enjoy your in depth analysis but I was hoping you'd get an accurate understanding of Cole's album for once. I get it you hated the "faggot" line on Born Sinner on the 1st track and you've been insanely biased since then. (He wasn't even making fun of homosexuals on it it was a line pointed at the listener). Main issue is that you catch on to some of the lyrics yet over value other parts and completely miss the entire narrative. On Foldin Clothes Cole gives what I thought was very deep insight on being black in America and how we're almost stripped of our emotional layers just to survive and blend in with our surroundings. When you described it as the "normal life for millions of Americans" you can say that easily for white america but coming from a underprivileged neighborhood where having cable was rare the "simple things" he talks about are something we have a greater appreciation for. Which is exactly why I love the line "niggas from the hood are the best actors". Keep in retrospect they can get perceived or targeted as soft for the things u may consider normal like the way you talk &/or dress, and when you live in those environments you'll do whatever it takes to hold on to the little you have while your there and in parrellel do whatever u can to make it out giving the appearance of almost split personalities,which is a daily struggle for many across all income levels of reaching standard success & being black in America. I can go into more but this is already an essay..All I can suggest is keep a more open mind towards the target audience & the perspective b4 u slap a bland rating based on a flat rubric
I know unsigned artist that put out better music than J. Cole. His flow and lyrics are subpar, yet his fans compare it to Illmatic, his subject matter barely scratches the surface, but his fans claim its the deepest shit. J. Cole is like a Wale who picked up conscious rapping or a way watered down Kendrick Lamar. HE'S OVERRATED AS FUCK. Anyone who disagrees is a dickrider.
I know it’s been 7 years and you make some valid points but you barely talking about the last track of the album says a lot. Reviewing music objectively is hard, especially when objectivity is such an abstract concept, but taking the emotion completely out of music turns it almost into a book. 4 your eyez only is a heart breaking, yet beautiful song filled with meaning. Dont skip over that.
Born Sinner: strong 5
Forest Hills: light 6
4 Your Eyez: strong 6
J Cole will be at a 10/10 by 2030.
tomasruckett He still has time to put a classic album.
forest hills was one of the greatest albums in the last decade and to you its a "light 6" lmao, if you wont believe that then explain double platinum without features
avox. I'm saying these are Fantano's reviews and Anthony will gave Cole a 10 eventually
avox. drake went triple platinum with the shitty album views
tomasruckett born sinner was 8 forrest hill was 9
Don't be fooled, this album was released just so we would forget that J. Cole went Double Platinum with no features
He still did it lmao
*1000
This album went platinum also. All of his are platinum now.
Dababy went double platinum with no features either
@@genesisosuna uhhhh... FALSE
I went ahead and put it in chronological order of how the story goes.
For Whom the Bell Tolls - James (Cole's friend from the Ville that was renamed to protect his identity) is good at heart and doesn't want to be a criminal. He wants something to change but the only place he can turn he crime. He prays to the lord as he sees the storm coming, and knows he's running out of options.
Neighbors - Two options here: James starts to partake in illegal activities (selling dope) early in his life and is charged with 2 felonies, or setting up the rampant racism that follows people no matter how big they make it. I know this song is about the police raiding Cole's crib in real life but it can apply to James falling into the trap the system set for him. The arrogance shown ("motha fucka, I am") goes away after being caught and he's humbled a bit but feels empty. This song is like the "Wake Me Up When September Ends" of this album. It's a great song and sonically fits but has very little to do with the narrative unless you make tenuous links.
Deja Vu - James finding the love of his dreams and believing he found destiny. He wants it more than anything but she's taken.
She's Mine pt. 1 - James fulfills what he thinks is his destiny and starts a relationship with the love of his life. He's found the woman he loves and that she loves him back. He began to feel that void in his life being filled. In KOD Cole even talks about how people who lack love feel the need to self medicate. James now has love.
Ville Mentality - James is wondering if he can go on as a criminal now that he has someone he loves so much. He wants to live a long life with her and knows that can't happen if he continues the life of crime. Like I mentioned, Cole believes self medication comes from a lack of love shown to addicts starting from a young age. James filled that hole by falling into the trap the crooked system set for him but pulls himself out of it by falling in love with a female human.
Foldin Clothes - James is abandoning the gangster lifestyle to be with his girl. Finding that life pre-For Whom the Bell Tolls is a lot better when you have someone that you love with you going through it together.
She's Mine pt. 2 - James is having his child, Nina, and learning what the unconditional love of fatherhood feels like. His heart is filling up and he's feeling more love than he's ever felt before.
Change - James begins to spread word that change can happen in the black community internally. There is a lot of external forces causing blacks to be suppressed but there's also a lot of internal issues. But James gets caught in the crossfire and dies from what he was trying to change.
Immortal - Cole remembering James. The eulogy from the end of Change leads itself into this really well. This is the biggest change. This song makes no sense being number 2 on the orignal track listing. This is obviously Cole mourning James, but when it's at 2, no one even knows what the album is about yet, now that we've heard what happened to James, we can see why Cole sounds like he's holding back tears and the song becomes much more emotional.
4 Your Eyez Only - Cole tells Nina the story of James
And people say this album has no deep lyrics, thank you for realising the actual meaning of cole's project, people over hate him yet don't realise this part of his story, and this is a great breakdown
Wonder why he didn’t put it in this order
@@rowanbrowning2934 same reason why Good Kid M.A.A.D city isn't in exact chronological order. Because it works both ways. (Note: I am not comparing Cole to Kendrick)
you reaching my nigga
@@mrb-btw this is legit the confirmed concept of 4 your eyez only bruh bruh
When you wear a red flannel and give an album a positive review
The yellow and red flannels didn't mean anything back then
C.J. Wanki nah at this point it did lol. they got meaning like 2012 or something
john brown but he didn’t like it even tho it was a 7. like he hates the production and a bunch of stuff like that
@@zeldamaster1036 anything above a 5 is a positive review as he has stated multiple times
@@zeldamaster1036 he did like it bruh
It's funny, I enjoyed the album and the people who disagree feel it's necessary to attempt to convince me into thinking it's bad. Relax people, we all have opinions
Yeah it’s bad, you’re wrong, sorry bud
@@CiroqLee my guy you're responding to a 4 year old comment and sounding stupid at the same time. P.S that's a FaZe member do you think he cares for your opinion anyway?
@@brojustaim5073 lmfao bruh it’s called
s a r c a s m. Idiot getting heated over a clearly sarcastic comment. hE’s A fAzE MeMBeR dO yOu ReAlLy ThInK hE cArEs AbOuT yOuR OpInIon? Hahahahaha relax child
@@CiroqLee I'm 18 moron 😐
@@brojustaim5073 figured, cookie?
Kendrick would've created this same exact album and you would've gave it a 9 or 10. Cant take you haters serious
Kendrick would've done it better. Kendrick is on a different level when it comes to flow, lyrics and creativity. He just know how to create an album, Cole clearly doesn't
KingLos Hell yea bru Kendrick do dis shit no one has a probably with it
KingLos Kendrick is a far better rapper than Cole. I like Cole but I don't know why they get compared so much. Kendrick has better flow, is a better lyricist, has better production on his albums, and has his albums better put together.
People don't understand. They want everything to have to be explained in a 4 page essay. Simplicity wins people over, and Cole does it better than most. He's dope and idgaf what anyone else says
But Cole does all his products on his albums and the thing is with this album he was telling a story like with the Neighbors that's a true story that shit really happen
As I've aged I realized how good this album is
Decent album. Probably Cole’s best. 7.5/10
Cole has so much more potential tho. Great rapper but is yet to drop a great project.
@@trenhen4311 Forest hills drive is a classic
@@jordanbenson9094 disagree tbh
@@trenhen4311 That's on you
I got "Change" on repeat. dope song!
Timon change and 4 your Eyez only are the best on this album no cap
@@antsolution true
Oscar Matthews Im a foldin clothes fan myself
Does your neighbors think you're selling dope?
@@Zmargo702w
9/10 for me. I love all of the album exept folding clothes. 4 Your Eyez Only is my favorite j Cole song ever. So I guess that makes up for it
i didnt mind folding clothes
i think folding clothes has a great meaning, but in kind of a subtle delivery. he kind of made it unknown but i think he is saying that he is doing simple things to make her life easier, and i think it added a bit of a touching feeling, might be just me but i loved the song.
Its was a 7
folding clothes was dope u trippin
James Scott that’s because you like the smell of fresh laundry
Why is it a crime to be a J. Cole fan suddenly? You don't have to like his music, but don't attack others because they like him. At the end of the day, he's a talented guy. I really enjoy his music.
CyanBlurProductions Nobody said its a crime. His fanbase is just AIDs. In general, J Cole always talk about how deep he is and how you have to be intellectual to understand what he's talking about, when in reality its not deep at all. You can listen to whatever you want. J Cole needs to stop getting so much damn hype, though.
"J Cole needs to stop getting so much damn hype" Literal definition of hating. You don't dislike him for his music you dislike him because he is getting shine.
no, it's bc they hype him up and then he releases this pile of doodoo
Farq offkent people generally don't like it when people get credit they don't deserve and stating so isn't hating, especially when his fans are so sensitive when you criticize him
.
Songs like "New Day" , "Murder to excellence" and "No Church in the wild" are light years more ambitious sonically and lyrically than any song on this album yet you gave it a higher score than "Watch The Throne". Did Kanye molest you or something?
He gave that trash Future/Drake collab that everyone's already forgotten about a higher score too. I think Fantanto just doesn''t fuck with Ye like that. It reminds me of how I feel about the band "Queen" I understand all the fuss and critical praise but they're just not for me.
Yeah I guess so. Still suprised this got a 6 Fantano usually goes H.A.M on projects with weak hooks and most of these ranged from boring to just plain awful.
Josh W. yeah, fuck people with opinions
You only mentioned the good songs on that album. Watch the Throne was more hype than anything. Its good but it was way hyped up for its own good.
Also don't go around comparing album reviews. They aren't meant to be compared.
It did not deserve a 5 is all I'm saying.
jcole fans make it hard to be a jcole fan....
xblazedv 👌👌👌
xblazedv word
xblazedv yup because they all acting like this album is godly
Yup, been a casual fan since 2010 but his ridiculous fan base and ridiculous haters force you to be a fan in private
SFGiantsFan777 thats pretty much what i meant. thanks for understanding G
J Cole the type of nigga to google "J Cole type beat"
But he makes his own beats...
lol that was a good one
Josh Wolf 😂😂😂😂😂
nah that's rapper that have "lil" as a rap name
Im cryyyyyin! lololol
well I liked it but since dad gave it a 6 I don't like it anymore.
MAK Videos same
MAK y'all are stupid
you do realize that a 6 means he likes it, right?
nah if it isn't a 9/10 he obviously hates it soo much
commander shit, you're right
As much as I like Cole, It's so hard to defend him when his fans keep saying "You need intelligence to listen to this"
you've never met kanye fans
Master Chef I mean Kanye along with OutKast has the greatest discography in rap all together
@@McDADDyK No Kanye fan says that you need intelligence to listen to his music, Kanye's strength is his production
Arohan Sinha yeah he’s never bin the best “rapper” ever
@@musiclifter5424 he's not the most skilled rapper, but he has one of the best hip hop discographies ever.
I still don't know what level of intelligence do I need to listen to J Cole's music.
Close-minded intelligence that all his fanboys have
If you have a basic understanding of the English language, you should be fine.
this album is much more deep, if you get caught up with the simple lyrics and the basic story concept, you won't understand the album. You have to look at cole's prior work to really understand what he is talking about, especially on forest hills drive, "03'adolensce' and a tale of 2 cities, the parallel stories that he sets up is the true genius here, not the story of his friend dying. And the constrating themes and messages that those two albums bring out and put together.
TJace50 It's still not that deep. I've listened to almost all of Cole's projects, starting from Friday Night Lights.
TJace50 it's not that deep dude.
Why do people hate him so much? As a Cole fan, I've never thought much "intelligence" was necessary to listen to J Cole. He's not the best but he's leagues above most of the trap rappers coming out today. Hes not the most lyrical or complex rapper, he's just real about himself and raps from the heart.
ERBOCH it's because he's simple and boring and casual hip hop fans play him up to be the one of best of this time when there's so many others that are more exciting than he is. I honestly see him on the same level as trap rappers. Braindead easy to listen to and understand what he's trying to convey except he's not exciting to listen to at all.
if you think hes at the same level as trap rappers you are fucked up mane...his lyric game is beyond average for sure, or now you gonna tell me that uzi or future can rap like that? gtfoh
420diamondlife not skillwise. But in regards to depth. People call j cole a fake deep rapper and its true. Nothing he says is nuanced, or thought-provoking. It takes just as much effort to listen to uzi or future and understand what they're trying to say. It's easy listening. People just fool themselves into thinking that cole is smarter listening because he talks about "real shit".
I made a breakdown of the album, see my channel. It's an hour and a half long audio. You'll understand the album way more after you listen
ERBOCH its because they listen to kodak black an lil yachty
This was my first J Cole album and I gotta say I really fucking love it. Its actually a 9/10 for me. I just feel so much while listening to it and I love the jazzy production.
Those who call J. Cole trash, an artist who consistently delivers food for thought... I believe they're afraid to think. They fear reality.
Damn....
J. Cole's lyrics, accompanied with mellow beats, impel you to think about what's real. His antagonists only want noise, syrup, and numbness.
Wow really makes you think...
I saw that on twitter too lmfao
MobbVillain I'm like 99% sure you're joking right now but if you aren't. I just want you to know you sound like every teenage Muslim kid who wants to be black and acts "fake deep" to smash white girls lmfao
it's called 4 your eyez only because it certainly isn't for your ears
Ryan Wilson That makes no fucking sense
Edit: I have no clue if I said this as a joke or not. I don’t like J Cole so I wouldn’t have any reason to stand up for him😂
Ryan Wilson I don't like J Cole, but you don't listen with your eyes... I can't believe I'm explaining this.
Ryan Wilson ouch lol
Oof
Xbxuej eke
the disease of "stupid" spreads. now they don't understand jokes
Damn when did cole start being this hated looooool
Ovando Graham people can't handle jcole fans saying that's their favorite rapper. they get triggered by jcole fans saying he's great
Qarcon yeah but that's their opinion. I think he's great. I think a lot of rappers are great.
Ovando Graham well maybe if you dumb ass Cole fans didn't overrate him and make it seem like only the smartest individuals can like him than you wouldn't have been hit with reality
thedondon911911 am I missing something? All I said was I think he's great it's just my opinion. I love Kendrick, drake, joey, andre, anyone that sounds good to me I like so I dunno why you're moaning at ms
Ovando Graham you asked why Cole is getting hate and I answered , L
"I rap from the heart fuck whoever don't fuck with it" - J Cole (False Prophets)
briganda13 you're trash
"Justifying that half ass shit he dropped" - J Cole (kek)
brigands 13 you are just trolling
J. Cole isn't for everyone. You need to have a certain level of intelligence to understand that he isn't very good.
pitchfork have never given him 7 out of ten all 6 out of tens album rating average rapper so overrated fuck jcole
Mpho Abrams nope. I'm just not an idiot.
You gotta have certain level of intelligence to understand "You may think you the shit but you can't out-fart me"
Eddie Crims lmao is this an actual line from the album
Mekhi Hampton nah, sideline story, but this album has bad lines a lot like that one
Eddie Crims i know it was cheesy but that line was actually funny as hell
Eddie Crims That line is on par with Hopsin's "Did the man who invented college, go to college?"
dont mention hopsin in the same sentence as j cole
I didn’t know this many people didn’t like this album I loved it. Just goes to show how dead real gritty sounding hip hop is in the mainstream
For real bro lol
6 isnt even bad by his ranking lmao
Holy fucking shit!! Where did all this J Cole hate come from?
people hate it when somebody is shining, thats facts
they'll say he is boring but probably listen to soulja boy and bop they heads to it
When you're underground they call you underrated. When you make it to the mainstream they call you overrated.
when his fans started proclaiming him as some kind of savior of hip hop and put him at the top
no we listen to better music than J cole
J Cole is the vanilla ice cream of rappers
vanilla ice is the vannila ice cream of rappers
Bob Saget L
W
He's more like the Taco Bell of rap music, gets the job done but isn't as tasteful or as fulfilling as authentic Mexican food... and he has a lot of shit songs
What the fuck does that even mean?
just cause he added a generic underlying backstory doesn't suddenly make the music good
FG love your channel but ur music sense is wack
preachhhh
No backstory needed on why your channel is shit.
It's an okay album but the story is far from "generic" this actually happened to jermain
'generic' hahaha youre a foo. log off the internet.
Dreamvile producer Elite stated that Neighbours Is about they're House come studio 'The Shelter' getting raided on suspicion of mass production of Cannabis. The crib was in a wealthy community of predominantly white people and seeing many black people coming to and leaving the crib during the production of 'Eyez' grew afraid and suspicious. This relates to the theme of systemic racism and the fact this friend the album is partly based on was actually selling doe. There's your backstory and context, make sure Anthony sees this.
Ye it was technically a filler song tho but he recorded it bcoz fbi raided em
4 years ago😂
Do what thou wilt. > 4 your eyez only
Liam Cad Yes, DWTW needs to be reviewed here.
I'd imagine it's coming tomorrow or Wednesday.
+The Supervillain troll.
Liam Cad yes soulo all day over this 💩
The Supervillain lol too complex for ur teeny brain
Kendrick Lamar's Sing About Me, is this entire album lol
Di General (Why do people always argue in my reply/comment section)
Lmao fr, and it's way better lyrically and told better with many small details that make it perfect
Di General (Why do people always argue in my reply/comment section) W
loooollll once the last song ended I immediately thought the same thing 😂
wow I just realized that lol
Di General (Why do people always argue in my reply/comment section) im done, that is all that needs to be said about the entire album, lmfao i love you dude
Holy fuck there's bandwagon of haters now
xXJustSaiyanXx holy fuck these bandwagoning j.cole fans that weren't fans before he announced his album
Solid StaleFry what?
Solid StaleFry why are people acting like they hate him with a passion? I honestly haven't seen people hate this much to even Drake. Jesus
How do you bandwagon hate?
cause this shit fucking sucks
Looking back on this 7 years later, not to sound toxic, but Fantano completely misunderstood the message of this entire album and instead of seeing it all as the description of Cole’s friends life, he views the tracks as separate entities as if they have no relation. He first misunderstands that She’s Mine Part 1 and 2 are about two different people. One about his girlfriend and one about his daughter. He also doesn’t understand that Change is written from the perspective of James, not Cole. Until The part where Cole is at his funeral. He COMPLETELY misunderstood Foldin Clothes, again assuming it is from Cole’s perspective, when it is a build upon She’s mine Part 1. James’ girlfriend is in her Third trimester, and yes, in the REAL hood, it is very uncommon and usually seen as soft for a man to fold clothes, sit and watch netflix all day with his girlfriend. But James’ who was so committed to doing the WRONG thing at first, now wants to do the right thing instead because this love has brought him newfound hope in life. Yes, It is regular for millions of Americans, but it is NOT for people in the hood moving drugs and in gang activity. Every person I have ever heard talk about 4YEO had to relisten to it after hearing the title track, and their understanding was completely different. You seem to just completely disregard this and admit that 4YEO wraps up the album and ties it all together, but attempt to make no connections of it to its past songs and instead think for some reason Coke is just rapping about himself for 9 songs then magically switches to James at random points?
Completely agree. With the context of the final track, the album is incredibly cohesive. The album opens with "For Whom The Bell Tolls," with its title alluding to funeral tolls, foreshadowing James's death. The track's lyrics and sonic elements reflect James's premonition of his demise, hinted at in the final track. It then transitions into "Immortal," which explores his involvement in a criminal lifestyle. James reflects on his friends' deaths and contemplates the significance of a meaningful death versus a meaningless life. This track shows James's awareness of his impending death and addresses PTSD in his environment. "Deja Vu" then introduces his love interest. Tracks like "She's Mine Pt. 1 & 2" and "Foldin' Clothes" continue this narrative, exploring his relationship's impact on his outlook and personal growth. "Ville Mentality" examines the influence of James's environment on his mindset. It delves into James's struggle with the mentality shaped by his environment in Fayetteville. He questions the transactional relationships and the tough-guy persona he has adopted to survive, recognizing that this mentality is unsustainable. In "She's Mine, Pt 1.", James falls in love, contrasting with his previous shallow relationships. He desires to drop his tough-guy persona but fears vulnerability.
The first track on the second half of the album, "Change", is a pivotal moment on the album. Unlike the somber tracks in the first half, this initially appears to shift things to an upbeat tone and reflects James's newfound optimism, likely influenced by his newfound love. He is at peace with the idea of death but struggles with internal change. The track foreshadows his death and shows Cole witnessing it, emphasizing the futility of his previous mentality. In "Neighbours", the album briefly shifts to Cole's perspective, as he raps that he "took a little break just to annotate how [he] feel[s]". This perspective change is well placed considering the title of the previous track and also how it ends. Though it's the only song from Cole's perspective, it is thematically relevant, addressing themes of racism and social injustice. Despite being removed from their childhood environment, the need for change remains evident. "Foldin' Clothes" highlights James's character development and his relationship with his pregnant partner. He begins to embrace vulnerability and finds joy in simple acts of love, indicating a significant personal transformation. This is aptly followed by "She's Mine, Pt.2". After his daughter's birth, James experiences a new level of love and selflessness. He questions his worthiness as a father, realizing true love is selfless. However, his newfound fear of death contrasts with his earlier acceptance.
The album concludes with "4 Your Eyez Only," where James reflects on his life, encouraging his daughter to break free from his cycle. Cole's final verse ties the concept together, highlighting the album's broader social themes. Cole managed to tell this man's story - how he grew up, met his partner, had his daughter, and died - in such a creative way, whilst tying in so many socially conscious themes. When you really listen you'll see that (apart from Neighbours) all songs are clearly not from Cole's perspective; Cole was not committed to a life of crime at 17 like "Immortal" describes according to tracks like "03' Adolescence", and is not a felon, nor does he have a daughter. The verses are consistently written from the vantage point of James, with his death foreshadowed on the majority of tracks. People need to appreciate this more. It's truly a masterpiece.
I feel like that corniness and plainness of Foldin Clothes is exactly what is perfect to him. Normalcy. Calm. Because his life has been anything but for so long.
As usual I felt you were being overcritical with J Cole, critiquing filler lyrics that didn't really needed to be critiqued, we've seen Kendrick, drake and even lil yachty do it and you don't seem to be catch on then. Also I'm not sure why you left reviewing the outro which was the best track imo, there were a lot of things going on that I felt was worth talking and also she knows part 2 had some great lines. I mean you point out the "cringy" and filler lyrics but forget to give credit where due. Other than that a quite decent analysis.
lightning zoldyck preach!
What filler lyrics did he not mention by kendrick or drake?
yeah but j cole is ALWAYS saying some filler lyrics. pretty boring to listen to. but shes mine pt.2 was a really great track.
Daniel Gonzalez All rappers, not only J Cole. But this guy thinks Cole is the only one.
leafar adazeuq exactly, and J Cole doesn't always use place holder bars tho lol, that's some next level exagerrating bullshit, infact he's one of the few artists that have relatively less filler.
This album to me felt more like a mixtape. I loved it. I get why people don't like it, but then again I've been listening to Cole forever so I kind of expected it.
Also as a Cole fan I just like his flow. I like that he's not yelling in my ear about some stupid shit, or trying to rap as fast as he can on some stupid shit. He paints a picture to me in his lyrics and his storytelling, which in my opinion not a lot of rappers do nowadays.
Bianca Gabriella Well said.
How in the hell would this album sound more as a mixtape. It’s a concept ALBUM.... hahah. Wtf
Ryan Matson
Yea. If anything sounds like an album then this.
Honestly this album will age really well....except folding clothes tho
"vile mentality" lol. this dude
Lucious Fuller dude clearly doesn't know anything about cole
Nothing at all, but he gotta mouthfulla comments about his art.
Lucious Fuller right I was thinking the same thing
I don't hate Fantano but he's very overcritical when it comes to Cole and most rappers who aren't kendrick.
Lmao why does the title pertain to how the music sounds? Lol you cole fans are hurt.
When did this "Fuck J.Cole" bandwagon start to form? All y'all niggas WILL 100% *NOT* say that shit and him and Kendrick drop their collaboration project, *THAT AB SOUL HIMSELF CONFIRMED*. Hush.
Raisean W I'm sure they will. Ab Soul said they been working on it for a while
TheRealdealdude2 nah I will, because Cole's melatonin inducin' ass is gonna have to try and play keep up with Kendrick the whole damn time
Yeah because Kendrick will carry that shit and kill it while Cole's fan will say that he was the best like their Black Friday tracks
TheRealdealdude2 FACTTSS😂😂
tbh there has always been a general consensus in hip-hop the J.Cole is boring in fact hes acknowledged it before
There are plenty of rappers who are better than Cole right now, and he can be boring sometimes honestly. Still, I enjoy most of his music as well as music from guys like Kendrick, Joey, Earl, Chance, etc. It's basically a bandwagon now to hate on Cole, and it's gotten bad. People who hate Cole are now just as annoying as diehard Cole fans. It's funny actually. People who hate on Cole complain about how annoying and toxic his fans are, yet they're equally as annoying. If you don't like his music, there's no need for you to listen to it or bash it so heavily. I personally hate Hopsin, but I'm not going around cussing people out over my opinion.
Good comment.
the only reason why cole haters complain is because cole fans try to insult you if you dont listen to jcole. They say your not intelligent enough or you listen to uzi and yachty. When in reality i dont like jcole but at the same time i listen to kendrick, chance, earl yachty, uzi, pac ,nas,outkast, tyler, etc. His fans just try to push jcole in everybodys faces
Brian Simpson I agree that some of his fans can be irritating, but stooping down to those fans' level doesn't help anyone. You're just adding to the overall irritation and disturbance if you're going around and insulting J Cole fans. People need to learn to move on and not get so worked up about their opinions. No one is right when it comes to Cole; music is subjective.
Brian Simpson Also, that comment was directed at you btw. I'm talking about the people who engage in constant flame wars and arguments over whether Cole is good or not.
Shaun Diebel yeah I agree that going to level probably isn't the best idea but still, so many of j Coles fans are so fucking cancerous. Like I know there is some good ones but so many of them are annoying and definitely more annoying than his haters
stages of a fake "woke" hip hop fan
09-11 years. hopsin fans
11-13 j cole fans
13-16 immortal technique fans
I uhhhhh. UHMMM. I sorta like all 3.....
YTG woahwoahwoah. Doom is the truth. his fans are just garbage.
One Dead Pixel i know he's good, I like DOOM. But his fans are mostly "woke" or "real hip hop fans". Same with Tupac, most of today's Tupac fans are cringy "real hip hop fan" teens who think they have some deep music taste because they know a few of his songs.
Add Logic in there somewhere
YTG bruh, DOOM is the shit, and not corny at all
The pain of being a J Cole fan.
Almond milk aside this album was fantastic.
Love Cole, but this project felt rushed, underwhelming... idk
Blank Face because y'all are missing the point of the album
Always Ready come on dude... ditch the holier than thou attitude and stop acting like people don't get the concept if they don't like it.
this is the best album of all time just behind Illmatic and he gave this a 6 lmao he should stick to pop music bitch. Cole is a legend and has the best verse of all time: ' If you go home I'm here for you baby get on the way cuz you making me crazy'' anyway another joke review I'm out.
Blank Face I agree 110%
Romy Taylor I'll agree with you there. and you bring up a good point in regards to pretty much anything: its better to have no expectations at all. have listened to the new Cudi album?
but hey 'deja vu' and 'immortal' were hard as fuck
and neighbors
Change and foldin clothes too
Always worried about the critics who ain't never fucking did it, I write what's in my heart, don't who give a fuck who fucking wit it -j cole🙄😴😈
Adam Andino exactly
Doesn't make him free from criticism though.
+Hung Lo Makes him free from caring about it though.
Dominichii7 🔥🔥🔥
LordHipHop _ well 2014 went double platinum with no features... and by the first sales week he's bout to go more than double platinum.... so by the looks of it people are buying even more of his shit and that's not gonna happen any time soon....
"Moustache moustache moustache" is all I can hear
EAT. SLEEP. GIVE J COLE A 6. REPEAT
?
DreDaDon__ Nice lol
DreDaDon__ ?
DreDaDon__ I mean, he gave a slightly above average hip hop album a slightly above average score. You're surprised?
J. Cole is the REAL 6God.
Man, this guy seems pretty hard on Cole. Almost personal.
I think he reallly misses the point of folding clothes. It was about the small things and doing something as normal as folding clothes and drinking almond milk weren't really normal for someone in his situation so to successfully change and become a normal person was an accomplishment and doing normal shit like watching netflix and etc are great now to do for a person he loves. However the lyrics definitely are lazy asf. But the subject is sort of a metaphor for the feeling of being normalized in such a bad upbringing
"I, I wanted to shut the album off" that bit killed me! 😂
Oh fuck. RHYMING ALMOND MILK WITH.. ALMOND MILK hahaha fucksake
KraftTV same LOL
KraftTV Try to find another critics who makes you chuckles through his words.
That's right, none other than our melonnnn. #FantanoForever
Cole thought this would be a Classic album like an Illmatic when he decided to go with just 10 tracks LOL. Try harder next time Cole.
Cole Lamar that's what I thought to when I see albums with only like 10 songs I get hype but this shit put me right back to sleep
J. Cole isn't for everyone. You need to have a certain level of intelligence to understand that he isn't very good.
pitchfork have never given him 7 out of ten all 6 out of tens album rating average rapper so overrated fuck jcole.
Saqib Munir he is very simply put, average.
Saqib Munir
He is a great talent but he still needs to find his sound. I don't think him putting out average material warrants a "FUCK COLE"
He is just comfortable now because of delusional fans who say EVERYTHING he puts out is nothing short of classic so Cole doesn't challenge himself AT ALL evidently.
J. Cole make music for niggas who say "you're just not intelligent enough to get it" - Dotpanem (Top comment) lol
The main flaw with J cole is that he tries so hard to sound deep and philosophical
The Copycat Ninja Exactly! Rap is meant to be dumb party music.
The Copycat Ninja how?...
I'm Negan no
Billy Overton he was being sarcastic
like hopsin
Kanye's worst album is better than J. Cole's best album.
HAHA HAHA sound crazy
HAHA HAHA that doesnt mean much.
Xen yeezus is the most raw, ground breaking album of the last 5 years its revolutionary go listen to it again
Alec Schulz you're joking right
Alec Schulz Cole is a great rapper but as far as pushing musical boundaries he's boring as hell, who's music will be remembered in 100 years from now
Im still wondering why no one in your personal life told you that shit on your lip was a bad idea
Incoming: J. Cole fans complaining about this review yelling shit like "GO LISTEN TO LIL UZI AND DESIIGNER, COLE IS 2 DEEP 4 YOU" or "YOU GAVE LIL BOAT A 7 BUT YOU GAVE THIS A 6?????" even though these are completely legit criticisms and honestly this album is pretty mediocre
David Rowe every single comment on this video is about how bad the album is
Brandon Standifer cause only his fans/subs have seen it now, when outside Cole fans start watching this there will be a lot of whining
your eyez > lil boat thats not even a opinion . but i agree its not perfect
David Rowe At least you preemptively called them out, I guess.
Commandosoap777 I like this better than Lil Boat too, I just find it funny how people still bring that up to "invalidate" his opinion
Nothing will ever top Friday Night Lights from Cole, wish he could go back to that sound
Harnoor Singh Agreed.
Harnoor Singh And that is the biggest problem the cole ''haters'' have with him. We all know Cole has already shown us his best efforts, whether it FHD, FNL, born sinner, simply put his best efforts were good but not brilliant.
Yes sir.
Agreed.
9/10 comment, 10/10 because ur a singh too
5/10. I wanted to try to like this album, but boy, is it rough. 4 Your Eyez Only is a testament to how ambitious concepts don't equal ambitious music. I don't mind quiet, slower production, but J.Cole can't seem to make it eventful aside from a few tracks where he picks up the tempo. The messages and concepts on paper would lead one to think it's obviously a good album, but I beg to differ because of its subpar execution and delivery. He literally has a song about folding clothes and drinking almond milk. No twist, that is all. I wouldn't mind it if he extended it into the simple things, but the poor songwriting really hurts it to the point of being cornier than early Gambino. It makes Wet Dreamz look like a masterpiece. And I can see other rappers embracing this theme and make it work, like Open Mike Eagle, or Action Bronson. And why do I say them? Because at the very least they have a discernible personality. Cole is much too mimicable, his cadence rarely vary or express more than 4 emotions.
Cole's rhymes and flow are so mundane and prototypical pretty much anyone can figure out what's going on in the first few bars, and is imo a lot the reason I automatically tune him out and fall asleep to his drivel. He's like the tutorial section for to build a rap. His bars are probably at his worst here as well, with placeholder bars and 6 word hooks left and right. And don't get me started on Deja Vu: Cole should've just used a different beat altogether, Bryson Tiller did more on Exchange than he ever could there. She's Mine Parts 1 & 2 could've been condensed. Why he would spend a total of 8 minutes on the same track is anybody's guess, especially once you notice the lack of progression within. For Whom The Bell Tolls is really good, but the emotion it exudes is super misleading once you get to the next track. I will give him the title track tho; even though it's long as hell he does his best at bringing the big picture and does it well.
I appreciate him wanting to tackle the subjects he did, but he does it in such a glossed over way (aside from the last track) Cole's 40 minutes feel longwinded and constantly distracted. I'd rather he put out an EP instead.
That Rapper's Adlibs Interesting review, cheers. He does come off quite boring. It's not exactly Critical Beatdown is it
*DIDN'T READ LOL*
Fernando Calderon Commented to say nothing tho!
Lol I'm just playing.
That Rapper's Adlibs
Probably the best comment I have read so far.
If you look in the news, Cole just recently had a newborn baby. The purpose behind the song Folding Clothes was that Cole did not want his wife to be doing things like laundry while she was pregnant. He finds joy in the seemingly insignificant duty of doing laundry so that his pregnant wife does not have to go through the trouble. He wants to show his thankfulness in any way possible, and he emphasizes that it is the small things in a relationship that go a long way.
@Derek Peng
Hey. I know this comment is 4 years old (as of 21 June 2021), but I did not even think about it like that. I also love the song "Foldin' Clothes" along with the closing, self-titled track "4 Your Eyez Only."
That's so cute.
@@UniquelyJamesEveryDay it's been 2 more years and I think the concept of folding clothes is much closer to the story of the album than you realise. First of all I am 100% sure it is mostly James pov, not Coles. It shows how James finding love makes his perspective on life change. Him being the best version of himself while doing laundry for example isnt cringe as fantano said, because it shows that he is changing as a person. It actively de-glorifies the "hood" life (which is a main point of the album) by showing that the best version of yourself is not grinding and getting rich, but finding love and caring for the ones around you. It is basically the foundation of all the change that was supposed to happen after the track change, but sadly after James daughter was born (she's mine pt2(which could be influenced by Coles newborn like you said)) he had to return to a life of crime, not for himself, but to support his daughter, so the essense of folding clothes still exists. This life of crime is what ultimately killed him, and is the main reason of the cycle of death and poverty in black neighborhoods, which James pushes his daughter to break out of in his final words on the track 4 your eyes only
@@TheFuckingKrayz THIS!! i always thought this was cole speaking as Janes too! this is him away from the hood life, enjoying the simplicity of doing everyday things for someone you love which is new to him as he's entered into this relationship. it feels good to him to do the right thing and care for his partner, than the wrong thing which is continue to involve himself in drug dealing. its an obvious bar because james himself is acknowledging the obvious difference between the two paths.
J.Cole makes music for high-school drop outs who smoke weed and pretend to be philosophers.
LMAO
hold this L
im gay Your user name is "I'm gay".. You can hold this L
+Ronaldo Montoya You can hold this L still though lil bitch boy
Clark Kent Hmm guessing my comment really hit close to home.
This is the first review i actually agree with you its decent but j cole fans overrated the fuck out of this album
Raisean W I agree completely
kevinn Where did you see people overrating this, all I'm hearing is "this is trash, boring af", while I found it just decent but quite touching at moments.
Literally haven't seen a single comment anywhere saying this is an amazing album, just a million comments saying J Cole is trash
kevinn we don't overrate it its just good
kevinn he dropped everybody gotta die and false prophets then went in a completely different slow forgettable direction
I actually liked this album best,.
Me too.
No ... born sinner is his best album .. and thats fax
Excuse you, we're talking about what album we like best.
Your eyes only is literally my favourite drop ever from anyone.
Kendrick could've dropped an exact same album and you would've given it a 12/10
this album was a complete disappointment.
don't even compare Cole to Kendrick. this album was average at best. Cole still hasn't had his TPAB, he hasn't had a classic period yet, while Kendrick has had 2, untitled unmastered could legit rival this album and that's incredibly sad. I expect more from Cole, I like him a lot. but y'all stop comparing him to a great in Kendrick Lamar
genneralOG W
genneralOG I agree and j Cole is my favorite rapper.
genneralOG FHD is kind of a classic imo
Jonathan C lol you're deaf
It needs to mentioned that untitled unmastered is just B-Sides and leftovers, so that makes it even more incredibly sad, Cole is not even close to the standards of Kendrick. That's also the reason why I don't look forward to that collaborative album, I feel like it will be soooo inconsistent
Way better then Gambinos album.
LOLMASSSS2442 how can you even compare a 70s inspired soul album to a boring rap album?
LOLMASSSS2442 the two are in completely different genres tf? that's like comparing vans to Jordan's.
LOLMASSSS2442 not rly
LOLMASSSS2442 not that hard imo
Because Gambino album isn't rap!!
From a person with such a “high” status in reviewing music, this may be one of the worst reviews for this album. This album got me through college, listening to his emotion DEFINED the lyrics. I would give the album a soft 9 but a strong 8.
I agree
That's completely irrelevant to the actual quality of the album cuz no one gives a shit about your experience
nobody gives a fuck if this boring ass album got you through college dumbass
J. Cole is the big bang theory of rap.
lol Whether one agrees or not, this a great analogy.
Kieran Douglas lololol yeah he and his fans are cornballs
i lold even though idk if i completely agree
Damn i fuckin hate that show way more than I could ever dislike Cole's tunes.
Kieran Douglas not really
Romagical jcole is trash and you mad cause u know u listening to trash 😂😂
J Cole is like boiled Banana water
Dashawn Mitchell you smell like hot dog water
You smell like a can of bounce dat ass
Dashawn Mitchell you smell like a box of finger licken good
Kakka CarrotCake lmao
Sometimes I be watching him but then I just zone out
wow thats so cool this adds so much to the conversation everyone needed to know this
People these days can't commit to more than 100 words to memory, we understand.
@@zeroscorpio3692 smfh
It's easy to get lost in his gorgeous teeth
7/10. One of my favorite albums ive ever heard because it had a lot of sentimental value for me but its not anything ground breaking and its not his best project even though its one of my favorites
One of your favourite albums ever you’d give a 7/10??
@@aidanmca4177 I love Madvillainy! Solid 5/10. Same with Abbey Road
@@Max-bm5rs my favourite one is tpab, easily a strong 1 i adore it
total xanarchy is the worst album ever made, no doubt 10/10
The Melon thinks I’m selling dope...
Mmm!
You have to have a certain level of intelligent's to be able to vibe to J. Cole.
Valve I hope you made that post ironically lol.
lmfao
Valve great meme
I hope to god that you're trolling
"intelligent's" lmao sleep
this dude is trippin, exaggerating. I wouldn't say its fire. however this is still a good listen especially compared to most stuff on the radio. very personal and introspective. quality music from a top notch artist.
i stand corrected....after a couple listsens..this is fire...if u don't understand u just can't relate 2 the message.
T. Wallace ok but it still doesn't sound good
T. Wallace dude, he does think it’s good. A six out of ten doesn’t mean it sucks ass.
This album was a let down from Cole, Sonically it's great, but there is some disjointed themes, and contradictory messages in a lot of Coles music. He also struggles when it comes to telling a cohesive story across an album, which is fine, tons of great artists have not had that ability, the problem with Cole is he's now tried twice, (haven't gotten around to KOD yet, so can't comment) on Forest Hills Drive, and 4 Your Eyez Only, and both times he's failed to really bring the narrative across the whole album, and that really hurts the album as a whole. Not to mention his lyrics are inconsistent, sometimes he's spitting truth, and fire, sometimes you're wondering if he even tried. This album imo is where Coles flaws are most exposed, this album shows how his current inability to create a true concept album, not even that it's not a good concept album, there are tons of bad concept albums, but that he failed to tie the album together with the story he was telling. He fell short of this, and so it sounds uneven, certain themes/tracks don't quite fit in. And while it is very good on the ears, once you dive deeper it leaves a lot to be desired, and nobody is to blame for making the deeper aspects of it matter, except Cole, because he's constantly trying to tell us he's the best, always telling us that he's got a message in his songs, all his music is telling the listener how much there is going on beneath the surface, but when you look deeper, you're left disappointed.
If this album could be taken at face value, like a lot of hip-hop music, with no deeper meanings/themes, etc. it would be a much better album than it is, because it's very nice to listen to, it's got some bangers, I just want Cole to give us that extra layer that he's always hinting at.
T. Wallace because comparing it to the radio is such a HIGH standard lol.
"J Cole's music is rlly smart and introspective! sooo intelligent and profound there's just so much to talk about"
"Okay, let me break down why his lyrics don't work then."
"OMG you're nitpicking!! it's not that deep!!!!"
Accurate asf lmao, I love Cole but damn his fans are annoying sometimes
Do What Thou' Wilt > 4 Your Eyes Only, TDE running the game right now
5:12 My brother in christ, Change is literally the turning point of the album.
"Rhyming almond milk, with almond milk" idk why but i lost it 😂
I officially can't rely on this man's reviews. Deserves at least an 8. I like Cole, but I'm not even his hugest fan, and I can see past a 7
dont rely on anyones reviews have your own opinion anthony is literally just here to give his
anthony isnt you
Exactly
Jcole is the greatest rapper of our generation and is a top5 ever as far as I'm concerned, all his albums have gone #1 on the charts. Not to mention his last album went 2x platinum with NO MOTHERFUCKING FEATURES. Which is incredible, when you think about how many of us don't bother listening to songs with no relevant artists on that bitch. He also executively produces his albums too, he's an amazing lyricist,flow master and performer. Cole is a God
lol
TRILL NIGGA lol
J. Cole isn't for everyone. You need to have a certain level of intelligence to understand that he isn't very good.
pitchfork have never given him 7 out of ten all 6 out of tens album rating average rapper so overrated fuck jcole.
TRILL NIGGA Gotta love the trolls
ClaytonSMS Kendrick did the same exact thing with TPAB from GKMC they literally did the same exact thing rapping about social issues and people will hop on kendricks nuts so fast because they think it's cool
To say "I'm a Kendrick fan" how the fuck is Cole boring? He's never changed up his flow or tone his last album went double platinum with no features and you have guys like drake rapping about the same shit over and over and over again either in a different tone of voice or with a different vocal projection it's retarded. If drake mentions his accountant in a song one more time I may never listen to him again
Kendrick Lamar >>>>>>>> Future lyrically
edit: guyses it's a parody on the x>>>>>>y hot takes chill
LNhart in other news water is wet
You really think so?!
Wicked wicked wicked wicked
wow what a bold stance
LNhart they are different artists who make different music so you can't compare
why didnt this get a watch/10?
Grizzled maybe everybody already got the point that melon will say on the video, so yeah
Musekid Id obviously he says it in the video it's just that gambino's album got a watch/10. Thought he might do it to newly released videos
Grizzled because it sucked
Lil Yachty 7/10 . ...... but gave Cole 6/10? smh
This is probably my favorite rap album of all time as difficult as it is for me to think about that with so many greats before and after. I love the raw sound he uses even though many at the time thought it was boring. Admittedly I’m a sucker for concept albums and from the first listen this is one of the tightest examples I can think of. second only, in rap, to maybe Undun by roots. The way the album is not the perspective of one person but two who are simultaneously experiencing similar highs and lows despite being growing apart into completely different circumstances.
I remember the day this album came out I sat in my room with the lights out and listened front to back. By the time the headphones went off I had too many tears to count.
You don't like tpab, to me that's clearly the best rap album of all time.
This is not even top 100 in the the decade. But if you think so then ok
@@bonystickmanking1250 dude i'm new in music, tell me what's the godfather II of rap albums
@@gcm8673 tpab Gkmc srs according to me.
What you forgot to mention about foldin clothes is that his girl is pregnant that’s why he’s making a big deal about her doing all the chores…he wants her to have a break then he realizes how much he enjoys the simple things in life
"It was straight embarrassing how y'all played him" - Kanye 2003
I don’t know why but of all the songs Foldin clothes grew on me the most and showed the willingness of Cole to finally be a good partner and settle down being happy with a more common way of life.
I always wondered why Cole was so popular. So I gave him a listen a few months ago and his lyrics are really basic. Its not a dig at him, it just makes sense now.
Silent Protagonist cause he is the most relatable artist out there
memes are relatable bih j.cole is nothing
Silent Protagonist I think the dude is really talented and smart but a little overrated, you got to understand the trash the mainstream has been giving us lately. I prefer JCole on that mainstream than any "lil" wack ass rapper
to put it short in my opinion I like him because at this point he seems to be the only rapper that isn't egotistic and doesn't rap about himself or his money, instead he is extremely relatable and talks about things on people's minds and even gives you valuable advice sometimes you can take out of his songs
+Dino Smash if that's why you like j cole, listen to chance. Everything you said applies, but on a higher level. Hell, he even gives away all of his music for free
So this corny ass shit gets the same rating as my beautiful dark twisted fantasy?
#justfantanothings
Mbdtf fucking sucks, get over it.
I dont know what album you listened to, but mbdtf is easily a top ten hip hop album of the last decade
I love Fantano but his Views on Kanye records are like Sisquel from Siquel and Eberts views on Scorsese films he's almost always way off and history ends up proving him wrong every time.
Carl he views albums objectively
He doesn't give a fuck if kanye dropped it or someone else dropped it
MBDTF is hella overrated
Get some new shit to say
Never let it die mang, hold that shit and never let it go.
Obviously this isn't touching Forest Hills, but it wasn't meant to. As you can tell from his verse on DJ Khaled's album alone, he's gone through some shit, we learn his friend died, we learn he has a daughter on the way and this album is meant for "her eyes only". Wasn't meant to be a classic, and it definitely wasn't but if you take your mindset away from all the "J. Cole needs to do hella numbers and his album needed to be legendary to assert himself as the greatest rapper alive" shit, the album is incredibly cohesive, sounds great, and is lyrically solid. As for his "greatness", Sideline Story turned out to be mediocre, and Born Sinner was a dope album but nothing classic. As of right now, for current rappers, Kendrick has an incrdible first album, one of the best hip hop albums of all time in GKMC, and one of the greatest albums just in terms of conciousness under his belt. Lupe Fiasco and Pusha T are as lyrically talented as anybody who's ever rapped, J. Cole will never go down as one of the greats from this generation or any generation. But he's still my favorite artist, because it's likely that since giving TPAB multiple listens over a year ago to dissect it, I will never listen to it again. Now, past dissecting the album, I have listened to this album quite a bit already. Him having a great, nice sounding album that has its lyricality and is way better than all the garbage rap we are bombarded with 24/7 is incredibly refreshing, since almost literally every newer rapper now sees how easily fame and fortune can be made through that shit. He's at a point in his life where he felt this is the album he needed to make, and I can definitely accept that. And don't treat this like a 21 savage album, doing live reactions with bigass speakers and shit lmao, listen to it with your headphones, really take everything in, the jazzy sounds, the drums, what he's saying, etc.
Joe Dorben See the issue with your statement is you fail to mention any other of J Coles work PEOPLE please account for Coles The Come Up, The Warm up and Friday Night Lights before you going into how " A sideline Story" is Mediocre. People say he is overrated listen to his OLD OLD shot before your formulate an opinion and tell me how overated he is.
Dx Void The point is that his commercial shit wasnt anything special until FHD. He was a sellout. If you listen to The Comeback Season youll find some pretty great shit even content and substance wise. However, what Drake had become commerically is what makes him such a big sellout and is why I hate him so much. Friday Night Lights and The Warm Up were dope, but even if he had decided to put out Friday Night Lights instead of Sideline Story, that still wouldn't change the fact that he's not gonna ever be recognized as one of the greatest rappers of all time, and people will never collectively think of him as better than Kendrick, or other guys from this generation
I read the first sentence of this that's all
As of right now, J Cole is way better and more successful than lupe fiasco and pusha T. Kendrick is both more creative and more lyrically gifted than cole. Cole has already established himself as one of the respectable greatest in "hip hop" for this generation.
"way better than lupe fiasco and pusha t"
lmao I can't take you seriously after that
> J Cole is GOAT
> Rhyming almond milk. With almond milk
Lmaooo I actually liked the song, didn't seem super serious, but it's fun. He's not just talking about folding clothes he's talking about just being present. If you've ever felt even mild dissociative symptoms and shit, being present sometimes so therapeutic. People search for crazy shit to feel in the moment but sometimes doing simple shit is what you need. Makes you value the bigger things. It's just a fun song not super deep or complex or anything and still topical talking about coming to age and domestic life so fits thematically in the album. I thought the almond milk line was funny as fuck even if it was technically bad. I just like that was a track not taking himself too seriously, being real, and I get it.
Foldin Clothes might be J Cole's worst song
@@agfromdai.e3806 deja vu is by far coles worst song
@@flyguy2k769 4YEO is a masterpiece. Sorry.
@@flyguy2k769 this nigga lol you’re funny
I rate it 10/10. I guess some people just want music to dab too, and that's okay.
Cedric Hank Benson *To
my bad, thank you m8.
Cedric Hank Benson I'm gonna assume this is a troll as I can't imagine someone who rate it ten and also no one has dabbed besides white children in fucking ages
Nigga trust me, people still dab. Come to my college university. People from all colors bro not white. And nah I legit think my nigga coles album is a 10.
Cedric Hank Benson This is most definitely a 10. Cole doesn't explore new horizons of music. Take his counterpart, Kendrick, for example, Kendrick uses a wide variety of instrumentation to get his point across. This album could be put into forest hill drive and will fit in perfectly, and that's not a good thing. Other artists show the evolution of their music through each album (i.e. Kanye, Kendrick, Ocean, just to name a few). Cole is a great artist, his flow is decent, he never explores new horizons however. People giving him too much credit, more than he deserves. Again he is a great artist due to the fact that he can speak out against he wrongs of society, but he isn't a philosopher either.
Ab Soul's album > J Cole's album
True
water is wet
idkman Fish can swim
idkman water isn't wet bruh. I'm not tryna be a smart ass, but search that shit up. say something like "water is water"
Angry Toast in before 9/10 for DWTW
your take on folding clothes was not very good
FINALLYY
While this is an old review, I still can’t understand how he completely misses the point of “folding clothes”.
The bad things about J.cole's 4 your eyez only
Okay
Shariqwa Witwicky you're cute af lowkey 😅
BlackTRIBEBeats stop trying to spit game on TH-cam comments
lane.johnstone it's either spit game or flame 🔥
BlackTRIBEBeats sadly you most likely fall short on both
Nah.. IDK how people like this guy so much. He's mediocre at best, 4/10.
B List His last album was decent, so people started sucking his white dick. They probably don't even know how shitty his other albums are
B List his last album was great this album is not
B List Listen to "I Get Up"
People always fall for simp music.
J cole sold out
Ok so I've watched a good amount of your reviews and I gotta say I enjoy your in depth analysis but I was hoping you'd get an accurate understanding of Cole's album for once. I get it you hated the "faggot" line on Born Sinner on the 1st track and you've been insanely biased since then. (He wasn't even making fun of homosexuals on it it was a line pointed at the listener). Main issue is that you catch on to some of the lyrics yet over value other parts and completely miss the entire narrative. On Foldin Clothes Cole gives what I thought was very deep insight on being black in America and how we're almost stripped of our emotional layers just to survive and blend in with our surroundings. When you described it as the "normal life for millions of Americans" you can say that easily for white america but coming from a underprivileged neighborhood where having cable was rare the "simple things" he talks about are something we have a greater appreciation for. Which is exactly why I love the line "niggas from the hood are the best actors". Keep in retrospect they can get perceived or targeted as soft for the things u may consider normal like the way you talk &/or dress, and when you live in those environments you'll do whatever it takes to hold on to the little you have while your there and in parrellel do whatever u can to make it out giving the appearance of almost split personalities,which is a daily struggle for many across all income levels of reaching standard success & being black in America. I can go into more but this is already an essay..All I can suggest is keep a more open mind towards the target audience & the perspective b4 u slap a bland rating based on a flat rubric
4 year old comment but you hit it right on the nail.
@@chainsawmay fr man really just explained 4 your eyez only, appreciate you :)
Thanks man this was great
would calling this Cole's best album be considered a hot take? it has aged remarkably well
Nah it is tbh
Review Stoney by Post Malone
I'll help you 0/10, there you go bro.
L that shit is flames
Patrick Bateman NOT GOOD
Lmao. Why waste time reviewing that?
fuck u
K.dot would destroy J.Cole in a rap battle!
no one is arguing that, as a cole fan I know Kendrick would destroy anyone
TJace50 😂 lol
He definitely would not beat MF DOOM or Eminem.
Brandon Vu idk bout that lol
Brandon Vu I mean anyone that is currently still making music. Kendrick is already secured top 10 all time mc
I know unsigned artist that put out better music than J. Cole. His flow and lyrics are subpar, yet his fans compare it to Illmatic, his subject matter barely scratches the surface, but his fans claim its the deepest shit. J. Cole is like a Wale who picked up conscious rapping or a way watered down Kendrick Lamar. HE'S OVERRATED AS FUCK. Anyone who disagrees is a dickrider.
RealSuperSand PREEEEEEEAAAAAACCHHHHHH
RealSuperSand who the fuck compared J cole to Nas smh.
Bryse Boynton real talk. I've never heard Cole being compared to nas nor his albums to illmatic. That's crazy talk.
As the great Big Quint once said, J. Cole is like watered down chocolate milk.
ED he was being compared to Nas early on, before he put his first album out.
I know it’s been 7 years and you make some valid points but you barely talking about the last track of the album says a lot. Reviewing music objectively is hard, especially when objectivity is such an abstract concept, but taking the emotion completely out of music turns it almost into a book. 4 your eyez only is a heart breaking, yet beautiful song filled with meaning. Dont skip over that.