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This album was released on December 9th this year. So, a lot of people at school have been coming up to me crying and asking why I hate J. Cole. Lmao. I don’t hate J. Cole. I just hate his fanbase. I mean, I don’t even really hate them. A lot of them are annoying as fuck tho. I just think it’s really fun to piss them off. It’s ’cause they take it personal whenever anyone says something bad about J. Cole.

I like J. Cole tho. I think he’s one of the most overrated rappers out right now, but I still think he’s above average. I’ve been told by some other students at my school that this album is trash, but I’ve also been told that it’s amazing. I’m expecting to enjoy it tho. I’m sure it’ll be like most of his other albums: slightly above average. Well, I actually really liked all of his albums. There’s not that much replay value, but still. I think J. Cole’s a good rapper. I usually prefer him on features tho. Except that Planes track. His verse on that song is fucking horrible, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, lemme go ahead and listen to this trash. Every song is self produced.

Track 1: For Whom The Bell Tolls (Co-Prod. Elijah Scarlett, Nate Fox, Peter Cottontale & Nico Segal)

Oh God… J. Cole… Stop… Why are you singing… You need to stop… Fuck, man. I mean, it’s not bad enough to ruin the entire song. It’s not good tho. It’s just not good at all. This beat is dope af tho. Huh… Actually, I don’t even really mind his singing that much. Once the bass comes it doesn’t sound that bad. Oh shit… It ended. That’s it. He was just singing. Nah. Nah. He should’ve rapped. This really isn’t that bad of a song. I really loved the production, and the melody wasn’t that bad. J. Cole’s just not a good singer tho. If he rapped a verse over this beat I probably would’ve given it a pass. I can’t tho. Again, it’s not even bad. I just don’t really… I mean… I wouldn’t ever wanna hear this again. It’s decent tho. 3/5

Track 2: Immortal (Co-Prod. Cardiak, Frank Dukes, Matt McNeal, Chargaux & Nate Jones)

Oh shitfuck… This beat is dope af. Cole’s flow on this first verse is pretty dope. He’s rapping about being a drug dealer. I know for a goddamn fact that J. Cole never sold drugs, so he must be rapping from the perspective of someone else. The first verse was dope. The hook is pretty nice. He’s kinda singing, but it’s not that bad. That second verse was really good too. This production is awesome. The final verse was dope af. This is actually a really dope track. I don’t have any problems with this one. This is a great song to me. 5/5

Track 3: Déjà Vu (Co-Prod. Vinylz, Boi-1da, Velous, Ron Gilmore & Nate Jones)

I’ve heard about this track. It apparently has the same sample as a Bryson Tiller song. That shouldn’t be a problem for me tho ’cause I don’t listen to Bryson Tiller. It’s starting now. Oh shit. Yeah, I’ve heard that Bryson Tiller song. It’s not that good… I definitely prefer this version of the beat, but I’ve never been crazy about that sample… The first verse wasn’t bad I guess. This subject matter just doesn’t really appeal to me. He’s rapping about how he wants to be with some girl, but the girl isn’t in to him, so… I don’t even know to be honest. He’s rapping about trying to get a girl. It’s a J. Cole song. That’s all you need to know. The hook is fine. Meh… I don’t really think this is a bad song. I can definitely see it appealing to a mainstream audience. It’s just not for me. I can’t say I enjoyed this. It’s decent tho. 3/5

Track 4: Ville Mentality (Co-Prod. Ron Gilmore, Elite, Chargaux & Theo Croker)

Hahahaha. Man… Cole’s vocals on this hook are so bad. Hahaha. This beat is dope af tho. Oh… Oh no… Is… Is… Is… Is this motherfucker really only gonna sing on this track? WHAT? Wow. Who the fuck does this fool think he is? Cole… Literally NOBODY on this planet listens to your music to hear you sing. Shit… I thought he was about to start rapping just now, but it’s just a really repetitive bridge. What the fuck am I listening to? Why… Why the fuck did he do this? What is this shit? Why the fuck is this pissing me off so much? I guess it’s because of the structure of this track… If he rapped on this shit I would probably like it. There are ten tracks tho. There’s no room for filler. That’s exactly what this song is. Filler. I’m not fuckin’ with this track. It pissed me the fuck off. This is wack to me. 2/5

Track 5: She’s Mine, Pt. 1 (Co-Prod. Deputy, Ron Gilmore, Elite & Chargaux)

Wow… Honestly… I’m kinda shocked by how much I don’t like this album so far. I like J. Cole, but this just… It’s not very good. Maybe the second half is better… This track is starting now. Okay. Yes. This beat is fucking awesome. The vocals on this intro actually sound kinda good too. Thank God. He’s actually rapping now. Of course this is the love song. I hate love songs. Maybe he can pull this shit off tho. It’s not bad so far. Although that line about Excedrin was pretty terrible. And I wasn’t feelin’ the line after that about patent leather on his new 11s… Or the line after that about the bible & the reverend… Huh… Yeah… Nah… I’m sorry, yall. I just can’t do it. This… This isn’t a bad song, but… Again… This isn’t for me. Nothing about this track stands out at all. The production was dope, but… This is just so boring. Cole just isn’t a very interesting MC to me. He’s not on the level of Mac Miller tho. I still like a lot of J. Cole’s music. This whole album so far just isn’t interesting me. This isn’t bad. I can’t say I enjoyed it tho. 3/5

Track 6: Change (Co-Prod. Ron Gilmore, Elite & Chargaux)

What the fuck is happening? Why is this album so boring? I know it’s not the lowkey production. The production’s pretty much the only thing I like so far. I guess Cole just hasn’t really… Well, okay… I know why this isn’t that good to me. I’ll save it for my final thoughts tho. Hopefully things will pick back up during the second half. This track is starting now. This is probably the most upbeat track on the album so far. I like this beat. The first verse was actually pretty dope too. Alright here we go. I think I’m gonna end up liking this song. The hook’s cool. His flow on the second verse was really nice. There are some uncredited vocals in the background from Ari Lennox. She sounds really good. The final verse was dope af too. Damn. This is actually really dope. This is the kinda shit I was expecting to hear more of. I I fuck with this shit. It’s dope af. 5/5

Track 7: Neighbors

This beat is dope af. The production on this album is really nice. Woah… Okay, THIS is dope. Wow. So far this second half is actually really nice. Cole’s flow on this first verse is awesome. Fuck. I wish he rapped like this more often. If this whole album was as good as this one track this would be Cole’s best project easily. He killed that first verse. The hook’s nice too. He’s rapping about how his racist ass neighbors think he’s sellin’ drugs. “Some things you can’t escape: / Death, taxes, and a racist society that make / Every nigga feel like a candidate / For a Trayvon kinda fate even when your crib sit on a lake / Even when your plaques hang on a wall / Even when the president jam your tape.” This is really fucking good. This is easily the best song on the album so far. Hopefully he can top this in the next three tracks. I don’t see that happening tho if I’m bein’ real. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 8: Foldin’ Clothes (Co-Prod. Elite, Ron Gilmore & Steve Lacy)

…What… What the fuck is this shit? “I wanna fold CLOTHES for ya!” What the hell? This motherfucker is literally rapping about folding clothes. You know how people always call J. Cole boring? THIS IS WHY. Why the motherfuck would a grown ass man listen to a song about folding clothes? Shit, why would ANYONE wanna hear a song about folding clothes? That’s like making a song about downloading an anti-virus software for your computer. Literally nobody gives a fuck. This is everything I hate about love songs in one track. This is some of the corniest shit I’ve ever heard from J. Cole. I just can’t believe this shit is real. This isn’t even fuckin’ good sonically. AND WHY THE MOTHERFUCK IS THIS SONG SO LONG? Jesus fucking Christ. This is fucking horrible. What the… FUCK? Why does this exist? This is me sitting here listening to this song…

Seriously, what the fuck is this shit? I… I just can’t believe this is a real song. I don’t fucking believe this. This is like if somebody made a song about going to the store to purchase a loaf of bread. I mean, maybe I should give this shit some context. “I wanna fold clothes for you.” He’s trying to make the act of folding clothes into a romantic activity that he does for his wife. It’s just… It’s just fucking not. “Raisin Bran in my bowl with bananas and some almond milk / I never thought I’d see the day I’m drinking almond milk.” What the fuck is happening? This is madness… I just can’t fucking comprehend this shit… What the fuck was he thinking? No. Fuck this song. This is fucking dogshit. 0/5

Track 9: She’s Mine, Pt. 2 (Co-Prod. Deputy, Ron Gilmore, Elite & Chargaux)

Okay, this song is clearly about his daughter. I’m kinda enjoying this one more than the first one. The production is nice. I guess it also helps that this isn’t really a love song. I still don’t know about this shit tho… I mean, it really wasn’t that bad until he started talking about changing her diaper. I get that everybody has to do that for their baby. I just don’t really care to hear that shit in my music. I don’t know, man… This just isn’t really doing anything for me. The production is cool. That’s pretty much it tho. I would never have the desire to listen to this shit again. 3/5

Track 10: 4 Your Eyez Only (Co-Prod. BLVK, Childish Major, Chargaux, Theo Croker & Nate Jones)

It’s cool to see a placement from Childish Major on a big album like this. He’s a really underrated producer. Holy fuck. This track is almost nine minutes long. Alright… This shit better be good. It’s starting now. This beat’s pretty nice. The first verse was really dope. The hook is simplistic, but it works. This actually kinda reminds me of Sing About Me by Kendrick Lamar. This song—and the whole album really—is a message to a girl from her dead father. That’s cool I guess. I guess the guy who died was one of Cole’s close friends. This is actually a really dope song. There’s no long winded intro, outro, interlude, or bridge. There are just some really long verses. I’m glad he was rapping the whole time. I mean, there is a hook, and it probably didn’t need to be there, but it’s not that big of a deal. This is definitely one of the best songs on the album. It’s dope af. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

Nah. I didn’t like this album. It really wasn’t that bad tho. It was okay. It’s just a really underwhelming project. To be honest… This shit is boring as fuck. I’m glad I finally listened to it tho. I got a handful of really dope songs from it. As I was about to say earlier, I think my main problem with this album is a lot of the subject matter, along with the structure of a lot of these tracks. I can’t stand love songs, so shit like She’s Mine & ESPECIALLY Foldin’ Clothes really isn’t for me. Cole also just… Stop singing, man. I mean, I don’t mind you doin’ a little bridge or something, but shit like Ville Mentality has got to stop. You can’t do that. You’re a rapper. I mean, I guess you CAN do that. It’s just not good. On pretty much every song I didn’t like, he was either talking about some girl that he liked, or he was singing too much. I really didn’t mind the lowkey production at all. I thought the beats were all pretty good. It’s just Cole. He’s not rapping about shit that interests me personally. It’s an okay album tho. I think it’s worth listening to. Again, there are some really dope songs on here. It’s just not that good as an entire project. This is easily my least favorite Cole album. It’s decent tho.

Favorite Song: Neighbors

Least Favorite Song: Foldin’ Clothes

Verdict:

68%

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