On December 9th, 2016, J. Cole blessed our ears with the release of 4 Your Eyez Only. 

In 4 Your Eyez Only, J. Cole mixes anger, love, and sadness into a beautiful composition. J. Cole really took me by surprise with this drop. The whole album really let’s you inside of Cole’s life.

Cole puts all of his emotions out there in 4 Your Eyez Only. He tells the story of his life and hardships by mixing jazz and classic hip-hop sounds together. Although Cole mixes styles throughout the album, they all fit together to put you in Cole’s point of view.

Many songs on 4 Your Eyez Only like “Change” and “Neighbors” reflect on personal and racial struggles. “Neighbors” tells the story of SWAT coming into his house/studio after receiving a tip that Cole was trafficking marijuana. The neighborhood was predominately wealthy caucasions, and the neighbors were suspicious of the predominately african americans coming in and out of the house. Of course, there was no drug trafficking going on, but the experience inspired Cole to write a beautiful song.

Though Cole raps about tension between different races, the majority of the album is Cole rapping about love, sadness, and hope. The 2 part song “She’s Mine” could easily be the most moving song on the album. It completely contradicts the hopelessness and sadness in his intro “For Whom the Bell Tolls” with Cole saying “Don’t wanna die no more” as opposed to him contemplating suicide in his intro.

With no features, Cole has the opportunity to make 4 Your Eyez Only his second platinum with no feature album in a row. 4 Your Eyez Only could easily be one of the best albums of 2016.

FINAL RATING: 10/10

BEST TRACKS: Neighbors, She’s Mine

WORST TRACKS: Foldin Clothes