Cole was actually trying to say, and how he was saying it. The following day, when I listened to the album one more time, I looked past the flow and more at what J. My second time listening to the album was the following: “Elaboration needed.” His flow wasn’t as good as I expected it to be from someone who many claim is o ne of the greatest rappers of all time, nor were the messages he was trying to portray articulated in a deeper, more complex way that made me think or reflect on his message. Cole was simply going through the motions. I didn’t enjoy it much, almost everything about it seemed subpar, J.
My first time listening to the album was the following: “Eh.” I opened up Apple Music and sat down on my bed, ready to be enlightened by whatever J. So when I heard last Friday after school that “4 Your Eyez Only” came out, I tried my best to clear my mind of any past bias I had of J. The reason for that is because his music has always seemed so typical the lackluster beats, amateur rhymes, and telling of the typical story of a rapper whose ‘Sideline Story’ brought him to fame. Cole’s music it was always something that I listened to when I had no other option. Overall, I give the album a 3.5 out of 5. Both the title of the album and the first track are a tribute to him and are dedicated to his daughter. As the album progresses, we learn more and more about this friend and the struggles he went through. Although many of the songs address issues seen in the world today, along with some of Cole’s personal experiences, fans are told the story of a friend of J. Once you connect all of the ideas in each of his tracks, an overall narrative can be seen.
Of course, each song on its own is great, but an important part of this music is to look at all of the songs as part of one big story. Also, since the tone of the tracks in this album is unchanging, it can become a little monotonous, which is something another artist could have helped switch up a bit, and wouldn’t have taken away from the meaning. Take “Deja Vu” for example: Cole “sampled” the music from Bryson Tiller’s “Exchange” and rapped over it, and listeners called it unoriginal. Experimenting and creating music with other artists allows musicians to expand their style and put out something new and fresh. “4 Your Eyez Only” also has no features, and although Cole can successfully produce his own music and come up with his own lyrics, I have yet to decide whether it makes him greater or holds him back. His success, however, may have gone to his head. “2014 Forest Hills Drive” went platinum with no features, placing Cole with some of the greatest rappers and producers in history. Some people may have been disappointed with the vibe of this album, but it definitely isn’t an album meant to be blasted out loud- it’s the type of album you really have to sit down with your earbuds in and listen to. He’s “never felt so alive.” In “Neighbors,” Cole talks about the time when his neighbors in a wealthy suburb called the cops on him and his recording crew for thinking he was “sellin’ dope,” a result of racism and stereotyping.
The important women in his life distract him from the tensions of the world and give him new hope. 2.” Cole deviates slightly from the topic of death and struggle in the album with these two songs- he talks about meeting his wife in the first and then raps about the love he has for his daughter as well as the responsibility that comes with being a new father and taking care of “someone more important than ” in Pt. On a more personal level, he also addresses survivor’s guilt in ‘Change’, along with the joy of having his wife and newly born daughter in his life in “She’s Mine Pt. Being the social raptivist that he is, the lyrics are introspective, and address the heavy issues that those part of the black community face, including police brutality, as well as cultural and structural racism. The beats and melodies in these tracks are purposefully slow and simple, so that it does not take away from the content of the songs. Some may argue that the album is boring because it lacks the bass-heavy and high-tempo music present throughout his last album “2014 Forest Hills Drive”, but the music is not the main focus of this album the purpose is to tell a story. In my eyes, “4 Your Eyez Only” is a skillfully written, reflective narrative. Listeners had mixed opinions on his latest album, including us. 1 when Cole announced that he would be releasing “4 Your Eyez Only” on Dec. There was talk of an album drop sometime during 2016, but everyone began to think he would wait one more year to release something. J Cole recently dropped one of the most highly anticipated rap albums of the fourth quarter of the year.
0 kommentar(er)
