As the internet memes say “J Cole went triple platinum with no features.” J Cole released his fourth studio album, 4 Your Eyez Only last month. This album was highly anticipated after J Cole released his third studio album, Forest Hills Drive in 2014. J Cole has a different style compared to most rappers because he raps about real world situations and issues like stereotyping of black men, discrimination, and the simplicity of true love. This diversity is what draws in many of his fans.
The album consists of ten tracks, all of which were rank on Billboard’s Hot 100. The album follows the story of a man named James who was J Cole’s childhood friend and was murdered at 22 years old. Some people believe that Cole wrote this album for James’ daughter and the album is for her “eyez only.” Despite this album being written specifically for James’ daughter, there are still themes present in every track that everyone can relate to. The themes include incarceration and a man’s devotion to his daughter. The story-telling style of rap that Cole uses is what draws fans in to keep listening.
This album is J Coles fourth album to make it to No. 1 in Billboard’s Hot 100. In it’s first week 492,217 copies were sold and it was streamed 176,949,538 times. This was the third most popular album of the year only to be overtaken by Beyonce’s Lemonade and Drake’s Views.
“J Cole’s album is really good,” said junior Sebastian Collado. “He is one of the best rappers out there. His album gives emotional songs that are meaningful. He also talks about his personal experience which makes it easier to connect to him and his music.”
If you enjoy rap music, J Cole’s voice will resonate with you after listening to these tracks. He has a strong sense of style and his lyrics are unmatched by other big rappers today.
