Why did I review the album? He’s my favorite artist (of the newer ones)
Did I like it? Still
not sure (but I think so)
Will I listen again? Yes, for multiple
reasons. I still don’t know exactly how I feel about this album.
I feel like Cole was going to
have a hard time pleasing me with this album regardless of what he put out.
Cole’s got a formula that he’s used to gain popularity in his mixtapes and his
first two albums. So if he made the same type of music for this album, I’d have
been a bit bored (not that the songs would be bad) because he’s made five
collections of music using that formula. At some point, I’d want him to step
out of his original niche and experiment a little bit. However, the other end
of the spectrum is that he’d try something so foreign that there wouldn’t be a
hint of the old J. Cole that made me love him as an artist. In this album he
tried a mix of both, but leaned a little heavier on the experimental side. The problem
is, I don’t like a majority of the experimental things he tried with this
album.
I really want to give this album
three spins, but considering that I gave Birdy and Sam Smith three spins, I can’t
give this three stars with a good conscience. However I am very glad I got this
album and would do it again in a heartbeat.
My Favs
3. No Role Modelz
2. January 28th
1. 03’ Adolescence
Overall Rating: 2.5/5 Spins
January 28th- I love the vibe we
get from this. It’s smooth and chill, but not boring. Also it allows Cole
lyrics to take center stage. What we get is a song that discusses various
issues (some serious, some not) in a clear and calm manner. It’s also clear to
me that he is very comfortable with his style. The best example of this is at
the end of the song where he goes after Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Well, it’s
more like a response to Lamar’s verse on Big Sean’s song (Control).
In that song Lamar essentially said (I’m paraphrasing but the gist is the same)
I like you all, but I’m better than all of you. Which would mean he is the king
of the game. In this song, Cole goes on the offensive and tells everybody that
they might be good rappers, but they aren’t Cole. I have to give both songs
credit because they both established the belief that each is better than the
other without resulting to name calling. Where I think this one exceeds Lamar’s
is that this one is far more relaxed and controlled manner. (to be honest it’s
a matter of preference) I found Lamar’s to be a bit too much, but this one
managed to hit the sweet spot in terms of arrogance and confidence. 4.5/5
Wet Dreamz- The story of J. Cole losing his
virginity. To be honest, I really don’t want to know this, but through his
storytelling he managed to engage me. I
think it was his frankness that did it for me. For instance, the line “Hadn’t
been in p**** since the day I came out one. “That line accomplishes two
things.
1. It’s
funny (although a nasty visual). And for someone like me that could care less
about J. Cole sexual life comedy is the cure. It lowers people guard and
automatically makes something more personal (which increases investment in the
story)
2. It
makes him relatable. I can’t speak for everyone, but I imagine most men can
relate to the questions that he asks about women and sex
The only other note I have to say
about this is that I wonder if he’s lying about the encounter. It’s a bold
accusation to make but hear me out. In his song Too Deep for the Intro he says
“should I
admit that a slutty b**** was my first smash? Was inexperienced so…..
The point is, at the end of the song the girl claims she is a virgin, so unless
the meaning of slut has changed, both can’t be true. The only other possibility
is that after sleeping with Cole she became one. Honestly it doesn’t matter
that much, it was something that I picked up on and was curious about. 3.5/5
03’ Adolescence- I love this beat because
it fits the song so well. It feels raw. Considering the content of the song
Cole couldn’t have picked a stronger beat to compliment the subject matter.
This song does two things that I really appreciate.
1. I’m
not sure if he did this on purpose, but It tells you a lot about what Cole’s
life was like growing up.
2. This
song is aptly named because it deals with Cole trying to find out who he is and
who he wants to be.
It’s kind of cliché
that each looks up to the other, but I didn’t mind it because my best friend
and I have a similar relationship. It shows you that regardless of what value
you see in yourself that other people may find the qualities you possess as
desirable even if you don’t find value in it. It also shows that we want things
we don’t have. I also like the fact that his friend is able to reassure him and
make him realize that the skills he has are valuable. Also, I like the fact
that through this song I realized that the qualities you possess color your
prospective. Furthermore, regardless of personality or lifestyle we all have
fears and shortcoming. 5/5
A
Tale of 2 Citiez- I HATE chopped rapping. I’ve been through it
before so I won’t waste time explaining.
Part of me wonders whether I
should learn to accept chopped rapping as an evolution of rap because everyone
seems to do it these days, but I can’t bring myself to do it. If you can the
follow the story he’s actually talking about some important things, but the
segmented nature of the storytelling annoys me and makes me not care about what
he is discussing. Therefore as a rapper you’ve failed. Still I can’t completely
hate it, even if the method of storytelling repeatedly shoots itself in the
foot. 2.5/5
Fire
Squad- I hate the chorus
although it is a step away from the norm for him. It was an attempt to try
something out of his comfort zone. I
respect the attempt to do something different, but it doesn’t mean I have to
like it.
But I did love when he compared
himself to all the other people in the song. I thought it was funny and a
unique way of saying that he’s unique.
Now to the part everyone wants to
talk about. To put it simply, I couldn’t disagree more. For you to subscribe to
his belief, then you have to believe that hip-hop is owned by black people. Are
the majority of people that make hip hop music minorities and African
Americans? Yes, but that doesn’t give you the right to own it. Music is free
and universal, so to say that hip-hop or rap or any genre of music belongs to a
certain race is stupid, shortsighted, and plain wrong. I’d say the same thing
if a rock band decided that rock is for white people and that everyone else should
stay out.
However, I did find the Iggy
Azalea crack funny. Was it rude? Probably. Was it unprofessional? Yes. Was it
funny? Definitely. Is what he said about her true? HELL YEAH. Should he have
said it? Probably not. I’m not sure why he says these things then takes it back
right after. If you are going to say something like that, go all in and own it,
don’t back out (and then cower back in right after you JUST backed out). He did
the same thing when he dissed Diggy Simmons. I don’t even think he should have
said any of it, but once you say it, you should own it.
As for the others that he named,
I’m not sure what he gained by going after them. At best he made it harder for
himself by potentially alienating people that could help him later on. Timberlake,
and Eminem are megastars in their own right and Macklemore has a loyal
following and a similar story (in terms of their journey in the music industry)
to Cole that fans of Macklemore could easily identify with. Cole’s gained a
loyal fan base with years of hard work, but of the people involved, I believe
his following is the smallest. By coming after them for no reason he greatly
decreased the chances of working with these artist (considering the statement
he made, I doubt he’d want to) and potentially gaining new fans through their
established fan bases. 3/5
St. Tropez- I don’t care much for the
lyrics of this song. There are a lot of nice individual pieces in this song.
The saxophone gives the song a jazzy feel that I appreciated and the violin
makes several appearances at various points. I also liked the lady in this
song. She fits the dreary dragging nature of the song well. I’m a bit surprised
though. Usually individual pieces work together to make the song better. In
this case, the individual pieces are stronger than the finished product each
help to create. 3/5
G.O.M.D.-
Did anyone else get the “the little
train that could” vibe from this as I did. Also he’s doing a lot of singing in
this one and he’s a worse singer than Drake so we all know how I feel about
this. I don’t really care for the lyrics
in this song. However, the instruments save it from becoming useless drab. The
saxophone appears at various points and gives the song a jazzy feel. There a
violin that get a solo as well. Also the lady in the background does a nice job
as well. There is a portion where part of a speech is played. I liked that as
well. Surprisingly though, I find each individual part more impressive than the
whole it produced. A little different from his usual style. To be honest I
found this song kind of funny.
For me, this song reminds me of
She Will by Lil Wayne. When that song came out I thought it was a bit crude,
but because Wayne didn’t make music like that often (now it seems to be his
calling card) I let it pass and although I cringed a bit, I’d be lying if I
said I didn’t like the song. I have that same reaction to this song. 3/5
No
Role Models- I really like this beat and this song. If he makes
another single, this would be a perfect choice. It’s similar to Power Trip in
that it has some powerful content and a message but manages to maintain the fun
atmosphere that would ensure some radio play. 4/5
Hello-
Like this whole album, this song has
a tinge of old Cole mixed with the highly experimental Cole that is very
apparent in this album. 2.5/5
Apparently-
I usually rail against artist that do this but Cole is doing a mix between
singing and rapping in this song and I like it.
This time around his voice sounds
kind of raw if that makes any sense and I found that alluring. Also for the
first time in a long time, this song has a lot of content.
I like the beat too. Cole must
like it too because he gives it time to shine towards the end. 4/5
Love Yourz- This is the most J. Cole
like song on the album. By that, I mean it follows his formula. A nice beat
that holds the song together and works as a conduit for the life experience that
serves as the content for his songs. Add some straightforward rapping and his
usual flowing style and it’s a typical Cole track. 3.5/5
Note
to Self- I was dreading
listening to this song because of its length. Even J. Cole doesn’t get 15min
for one track (well I guess he does because I ended up listening to it). Only the
first 3 minutes is the actual song, the rest is a thank you to everyone that made
the album possible.
As far as the actual song, I really
like it. It’s one of the few risks he took that paid off in my eyes. He’s doing some sing-talking in this one, but
it didn’t bother me much this time. The reason is that he found a way to blend
in this time. The main focus was on the choir and on the beat, so his singing
didn’t bother me.
It’s also a clever twist on thank
you songs. He starts the song by saying I don’t matter, so don’t s*** matter. So when
we get to the end, we realize that the people do matter to him and he realizes
that without his team he would not do as well as he does. And if you listen, he’s
teasing us about what is to come when he says you’ll see in
the end. And the lyrics
I’ve got a feeling there is something more could also be alluding to the
ending as well (or his feeling of genuine love for the people he’s worked with
or both).
Speaking of the end, he literally
thanks personally everyone that he can think of. It’s something similar to what
he did on the Warm Up during Last Call, but this one is WAY longer. As much
as I love Thank You by Jin that song was much safer (though more complex)
because he wrapped his thank you’s into a song, so even if you do not know
exactly who those people are, you can lose yourself in the beat or rappers
flow. The way Cole does it is
straightforward stand up style delivery. He takes center stage and talks about
people that none of the audience knows personally. That makes this very risky.
The thing that made it pay off for me was that I care about Cole and his
journey and I want to know about the people that made it possible.
Thank You by Jin is still my
favorite thank you song, but this one is very good. 4/5
0 comments:
Post a Comment