J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive (Discussion Thread) *Stream*

[Brooklynzson]

3rd listen...i fukks w/ it. PreOrdered

 

[Mike Otherz]

j cole always been underrated. his last album was album of the year. and his vocals have improved. his inflections etc. i fux with this. expect pitchforkk to shyt on it though.

 

[krulesweatshirt]

1. Too much singing

2. Too much happy-go-lucky songs

3. Short tracklist. First track and last irrelevant - especially the last one. Remember when Coli users were like "OMG There's a 14 minute track. COLE MUST GO IN". Then it turns out it's just cole shouting nonsense. Which leaves only what like 11 tracks?

4. Cole used to be good at making deep/story telling songs. But he seems to use them up in his initial mixtapes. Songs on Forest Gump Drive sounds like leftovers - or that he can't come up with new ways to story tell them properly. It's kinda weird, look at Sideline Story - interestingly the stand out songs are girl songs - Can't Get Enough even Work Out was good club song. Songs like never told and breakdown were very average. Same as songs on FD.

5. He tries too hard to be this socially-aware rapper, like he's the only one who recognizes the struggle. But he executes the album way too average. It's really nothing special.

6. Not sure about production, but Cole's drums, beats have a similar signature to them and it's okay but to be refreshing he really needs an out of the box producer.

7. His raps. Wayyyyy too dumbed down. What happend to the Cole that used to rhyme complex multis?

I actually agree with this except for 7.

 

[Roaden Polynice]

The fukk is the point of that song about him losing his virginity?

I thought his first smash was a slut?

And it's the most boring losing the virginity story ever. Mom's away! I'm checking out pornos for technique! I have condoms!!

But wait...

She's a virgin too

song fades

Cool. Cool song man

 

[dontreadthis]

so I guess Cole went into the studio for this album and was like "let me do my best Mos Def impression"

 

[Millions]

Preordered this too shyt is fire

Knew this would be dope hearing how he bodied them Bas features.

 

[Poetical Poltergeist]

This dudes music is just kinda in the middle lane..its not bad. but not like whoa i need to hear that again. I have no desire to go back and listen to any one of these tracks because they are just kinda there. dude is missing something or maybe its his production.

 

[HendriX]

Ok, this is worse than Born Sinner

2.5/5

album is soft, too much singing going on

 

[FlyRy]

bumping now at work fresh listen never peeped the snippets

 

[MeachTheMonster]

so I guess Cole went into the studio for this album and was like "let me do my best Mos Def impression"

Cole been doing mos def impressions. Mos won't do it no more, so I ain't even mad


Album is flames, cole gets better with every release

 

[Mike Otherz]

this the album that gonna make cacs really hate cole. brave nikkaz always sacrificed. calling out cacs when the last time a nikka did that. i know my nikkaz notsoft,ruler 09 gotta be proud of dude.

 

[gluvnast]

Fantastic what I am hearing so far. Representing the home town nicely.

 

[KillSpray]

Ok I have a bad review of this album for yall.

Album had a spark when it started...

End of the album is brutally bad. From the production to the song writing, this is J Cole at his most pretentious yet.

The bigger issue I see with Cole's content now is this whining, melancholy, teenage angst sort of vibe that dominates his music. By all accounts this guys childhood was about as average a middle class black kid as possible. And that's OK, but maybe he needs a little more humor, and little more airiness and color in his production to make these every man tales pop a little bit more. All of these somber backdrops, with his crooning about wanting to be free, it's kinda ridiculous in a way. At times J Cole's material feels like a romantic comedy scored as a tragedy. It's like goofy, clumbsy shyt happening on screen, but the score is just straight up Titantic, violins and soft pianos. Just totally mismatched and pretentious.

Then there's J Cole's singing, which literally doesn't enhance anything about this album for me. It just kinda emphasizes more that whining, droning, melancholy, dramatic, stuck in my teenage angst, feeling that this album brings across so well. nikka crooning about "I just want to be free"
It's really kind of outlandish when you think about it


I think when it all boils down, I just don't like J Cole as an artist. His aesthetic isn't something that appeals to me at all, and this album is more in line with that.

 

[okocharuud]

Don't save HERRR, She don't wanna be saved



''No Role Modelz''

This album gets better towards the end...

Best track- Fire Squad


Eminem, Macklemore, Iggy just doing what Elvis did with Rock n roll

 

[OaklandCertified]

I fukks with J.Cole!! Buying this Album