Wow it seems like all the albums that were “never gonna drop” are dropping this year. First was Don’t Be Dumb by ASAP Rocky which I absolutely loved. It felt like a continuation of Testing and knowing the issues Testing had, I feel like Don’t Be Dumb fixed those issues despite some iffy performances here and then.
Now, J Cole has dropped what is quoted as his final album. I say this because obviously there has been a history where rappers decide to “retire” then come back. Jay Z being a particular example of this, dropping the Black Album, which to this day is one of his greatest albums. Then he came back with Kingdom come which was pretty mediocre.
For most of my listening experience with Cole, I’ve been somewhat mixed. I like the dudes music but the difference is, I expect more from someone who is named as being apart of the big 3. He’s talented for sure. His lyrics and wordplay are impressive, but when it comes to his production and other aspects, I don’t think he’s that remarkable. So while I do like him, I don’t absolutely love the music aside from a couple records that being 4 Your Eyes Only and Friday Night Lights. I think his bars at times are also questionable, gimmicky and corny. But let’s put that aside.
Seeing this being over 20 tracks is a risk I’ll say that. But, this tracklist has some of the greatest J Cole songs of all time and some of these tracks I think will be defining moments for hip hop for this year and possibly the decade. The Fall off is inevitable, is one example of this. Cole tells his life story but instead, it has a twist. It’s told in reverse. He also rhymes the last word of the lines with reverse further exemplifying his storytelling capabilities. It’s peak Cole. Safety has a nice instrumental, the hook is honestly pretty addicting. One of the better ones of the album. This song feels very old school J Cole like and I love the touch. More tracks that are up this caliber are Poor Thang, Legacy, Lonely At The Top, The Villest, What if and my personal favorite I Love Her Again. Brother is rapping like the rents due.
Especially on I Love Her Again. A Common interpolation. It’s a love song that uses a woman as a metaphor for the love of hip hop music. And out of many many interpolations that have occurred in hip hop history, this is one of if not the best I’ve heard. The storytelling from Cole and the quick, steady, slippery flows from Cole is absolutely mind boggling. Like it’s seriously some of the best rapping I’ve heard from this dude. The energy he also portrays is so god damn infectious.
The rest of the album though, is a missed opportunity if I had to describe this album in a sentence. For the most part, it ranges from okay to great tracks. Mainly just fine and underwhelming the more the record goes on. Like it actually pisses me off that this album isn’t his best because there is clearly an incredible album somewhere deep here. Like I understand the fact he wanted to make this a “big finale” but I don’t think he needed to overstuff the tracklist. Most artists in general can’t pull off a double album like this. You only get very rare exceptions. They feel and essentially are a once in a lifetime situation. So yes, the biggest issue with this record is how bloated it is because I simply think he could have told these ideas in a much more cohesive manner.
Another thing I want to mention is that J Cole’s choruses are extremely poor for the most part. This is a trend that I’ve noticed and you can pin it back to that 2014-2016 era. It seems like he lost the plot when it comes to making a decent hook. Like you will get a hook from Petey Pablo on Old Dog where he’s just talking about taking his shirt off. Why do we need to hear this?
The Let Out also has vocals that sound extremely processed. Only You is also terrible as well. I know he’s been working on this for over 10 years or something but this song sounds like ChatGPT made it. Which is not good and makes me think he actually started working on this sooner than we think. He could have started this in 2022. The features also aren’t that special except for Erykah Badu. I don’t know if I love Futures part on Run A Train but he is awful on Bunce Road Blues. I would have liked to hear from JID or Ari Lennox instead of Petey Pablo, Tems, Future and Burna Boy
Overall, is this his best album? No, not at all. Not even close. 4YEO is still my favorite from him.. It’s unbelievable he was working on this for a decade. I just can’t buy that. Obviously if you look hard enough, you can find fantastic cuts and he could have made an incredible album if he spent time trimming the fat down. But, as a result it’s a missed opportunity. The title of the album is a warning, telling us that J Cole has truly fallen off even if it’s decent.
