I wanted Cole to finally realize his potential and have his Chauncey Billups 2004 NBA finals moment.
It was time for the release of 2014 Forest Hills Drive and I wanted nothing more than this album to be great. By releasing his album in this abrupt manner, J Cole wanted to prove to his peers that the mainstream album formula wasn’t necessary and that if you garner an audience you can make the music you want to make. It was clear to me at this stage that J Cole was aiming to prove a point with the release of this album. During that performance Cole poured his heart out, and it was the first time I saw passion from Cole since Friday Night Lights. Then days before the release of his album he performed his song, “ Be Free” on Letterman. Cole began to interact with his fans more, even surprising some fans at their homes with private listening sessions. Taking his time to march with the people, proving to many fans and listeners of J Cole that he wasn’t all talk. J Cole took part in a number of these protests and let his voice be heard when it came to these controversial issues. Specifically making himself one of the few musicians visibly present in the protests dealing with the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. J Cole began to partake in the social issues taking America by storm.
Before he released his most recent album J Cole began connecting with his audience again. Cole’s passion for his music seemed to take a backseat to selling records, as he built his albums around singles instead of attempting to build something cohesive. His first two albums Cole World: The Sideline Story and Born Sinner were formulaic commercial rap releases and I witnessed Cole transform from this relatable person into a caricature of his former self. Leading up to the release of his album I began to remember why I used to love J Cole the person. Many of his fans even declared it an instant classic and best album of 2014, although most critics disagreed. His album 2014 Forest Hills Drivewas released in an unconventional manner, with basically no promo or singles he was able to do big numbers, a rarity in 2014.
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It was like nothing else at the time, clearly influenced by 90’s boom bap, but not obsessed with it (*cough cough* Pro Era) and a mixtape that I felt rivaled the greatness of Wale’s More About Nothingtape (times have changed huh) and Wiz Khalifa’s Kush and OJ (yes times really have changed).įast forward 4 years to the present and J Cole is coming off the release of his third and most successful album to date. It was a breath of fresh air and I instantly put it into my rotation. Cole’s mixtape The Warm Up hit the internet the year before to much acclaim and his Friday Night Lights mixtape did not disappoint. J Cole was part of this new wave of rappers who were buzzing and considered to be the future of the entire hip hop genre. Both the Drake and Kid Cudi albums had a considerable amount of hype, but they did not come through.
J cole’s contemporaries had just released underwhelming projects, Drake’s Thank Me Later dropped a couple months before and Kid Cudi’s second album a couple of days before. I was a freshman in high school when J Cole released his mixtape Friday Night Lights.
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