The life of Fayetteville, NC native Jermaine Lamarr Cole has been anything but tranquil since he introduced himself to the world with his 2007 mixtape, The Come Up. With each outing, J. Cole has found the pursuit of fame, and the price of it, is something he struggles with. On one hand he needs the confirmation that he’s on the level of his peers(Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, Ab Soul, etc.) and influences(Nas, Jay-Z) while on the other he would be just as happy if it all ended tomorrow.
That dichotomy is at the heart of his latest album, 4 Your Eyez Only. Throughout the album we hear J. Cole struggle with fame, doubt and death.
On the jazz & piano infused Ville Mentality, J. Cole voices his utter disgust with fame:
“Trials and tribulations I’m facing in this age of information/I hate this shit/Cause niggas hit my phone when they want some shit/Bitches hit my phone when they want some dick”
The opening track Immortal features Cole reminiscing on his friend who was in the drug game. Cole struggles with getting into the life or using his talents to get out of the hood but even then he knows that he’s being pigeonholed by society:
They tellin’ niggas sell dope, rap or go to NBA, in that order/
It’s that sort of thinkin’ that been keepin’ niggas chained/
At the bottom and hanged/The strangest fruit that you ever seen/
Ripe with pain, listen…
J. Cole’s constant struggle, or some would say obsession, with death can be seen in Immortal as well as songs like Change. But unlike Immortal, once Change happens he seems to be at peace about it:
But see I’m growing and getting stronger with every breath/
Bringing me closer to heaven’s doors with every step/
As we speak I’m at peace, no longer scared to die
Despite Cole’s annoyance with the price of fame, his struggle with pain & death and the overall pressure of being who he is, he finds two things in the midst of his struggles – hope & love. She’s Mine Part I finds that J. Cole “has fallen in love for the first time.” This is a nod to his wife. The two were married in 2015 and it only became public knowledge when Creed director Ryan Coogler let it slip during an interview. On She’s Mine Part II, Cole truly lets you in to his joy of being a first time father. On the song he sings that “For you I drop the tough guy shit.” On Folding Clothes, J. raps about the joys of marriage and doing anything he can to help make her life a bit easier. Things that would’ve labeled soft by a younger J. Cole(folding clothes, watching Netflix while eating cereal with almond milk) now give him peace. It’s this peace that makes him wonder why men have to play the tough guy role so much:
Niggas from the hood is the best actors/We the ones that got to wear our face backwards/Put your frown on before they think you soft/Never smile long or take your defense off/
By far the best, most gut wrenching & thought provoking track on the album is the title track, For Your Eyez Only. On the track Cole pens a letter to his daughter & recounts the story of his childhood friend from the Immortal track. Cole tells the story of his rise & ultimate fall from grace while at the same time dealing with his struggles to remain on the right path. It’s a story of warning & caution – one that he wants his daughter to heed.
At only 10 tracks & 44 minutes, J. Cole wastes no time and gets straight to the point. The album is lush with soulful grooves that differs from the harder bombastic sounds of 2014’s Forest Hills Drive… and that’s a good thing. The objective of 4 Your Eyez Only is for J. Cole to let us into his world, his thoughts & his struggles… and hip-hop is better for it.
Grade: A+
Standout Tracks: 4 Your Eyez Only, Immortal, Ville Mentality, Folding Clothes, Change, For Whom The Bell Tolls
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