Jermaine Lamar Cole. One of my favourite artists ever, dropping some of the best hip-hop anthems and stories I've heard in recent years. He's managed to climb to the top and has harnessed support and praise from his peers, which is more than deserved. However, he's not always been the story telling, platinum with no features, long-dreaded don that he is today. He has actually had a mad turnaround that saw him ditch his Drake copycat persona into a unique and distinctive artist that has put him at the top of the game.
A turnaround so impressive that it needs to be broken down and looked at further, imo.
2009. The rise of "soft rap" was everywhere, with Drake being at the forefront of this after signing with Lil Wayne, exposing the world to his wannabe street G lyrics and songs, even though he came from a fairly wealthy family and lived in the suburbs of Toronto - hardly a struggle. As this sound was taking over, it is no surprise that the up and coming rappers of the time decided to move into this lane and take advantage of it's rising popularity. Cole hopped on board. His very first mix tape dropped in 2007, and it was time to follow it up by upping the scale of production.
Jay-Z launched Roc Nation Records, and Cole was Jay's first signing to the label. This VERY nearly wasn't a thing, after Cole waited for hours outside the Roc building, desperately trying to get jigga to hear the mixtape that Cole had worked so hard on, only for Jay to ignore him. Fuck, back home Cole went. But he tried again, and finally managed to get Jay to hear it which led to the signature on the Roc Nation contract.
The second mix tape, The Warm Up, dropped and this saw Cole's popularity boost, especially with the backing from Jay-Z, and Jermaine even managed to get a feature on The Blueprint 3. He was a featured artist in XXL's 2010 freshman class and it was clear that Cole was it. The next big thing. The only problem being that he still was using this soft tone and lazy, cliche love song lyrics in his rhymes. His first single under Roc Nation, Who Dat, was released on BET exclusively, and it was the first attempt of getting some consistent radio play. This worked, but unfortunately led to the next single, Work Out, which doesn't even get performed at live shows cause Cole is basically just embarrassed by it. I mean the lyrics:
"Let me see you get high, then go low,
now girl let me see you drop that thing down to the floor"
Yikes. Very very not good. But he needed radio play to boost sales and raise awareness of the inbound debut album. He then appeared as a feature on songs with Wiz Khalifa, Wale, Drake, DJ Khaled and more, putting his name about. He even began showing what he could do in terms of production. After producing some beats for Jay Z, and a lot of cuts from the first two mix tapes, he then cooked up HiiiPower for Kendrick, a big hit, and even managed to get some beats made that hosted guest verses from Missy Elliot, Miguel and Trey Songz. To see out 2010, the third mix tape, Friday Night Lights, became an almost cult classic. Wasn't the album that fans were expecting, but enough to tie them over until it finally released.
September 2011, the debut album Cole World; The Sideline Story was dropped. 218,000 copies sold first week. Number 1 album on Billboard. Gold status within three months, and drew fans in with the previously mentioned Missy Elliott feature, unexpected as she practically retired. The album was big. This saw him tour the states before confirming that he was already working on the next one in a radio interview a few months into 2012. Despite this success, he was the warm up act for Tinie Tempah (lol what the fuck) and was part of a UK tour.
Still hanging on to this Drake style formula that had got him his big break between 2009 and late 2011, rapping about the girl he loves and what he would do to have one night with her *yawn*, Cole began sharing on Twitter that he was working on production for most of the next album. This was the beginning of the change in J. Cole. He stated that the second album Born Sinner was going to shift things around, providing more tracks that had an aspect of social commentary, and more stories being told of how he got to where he is today. Born Sinner included tracks Forbidden Fruit, Villuminati and She Knows, which may be the best production work Cole has ever done. The beat is ridiculous. He even said that it was one of his own personal favourites in the discography. The video is also really good, and you should definitely watch it here: J.Cole - She Knows
The lyrics and content of Born Sinner was different. You can hear the hunger in his voice and it is easy to understand what exactly he was trying to convey in the artistry of the tracks. As expected, some of the songs on the album are pretty radio bait, but still a good listen and an indicator that a stylistic change was coming. Clearly, Cole was conscious of the perception that these washed down tracks was getting, leading to him putting out the song "Let Nas Down". In this track, he highlights all the career goals he had set out for himself and the legacy he wants to have. A legacy similar to Nas, who made his name putting out one of the best rap album's ever with Illmatic. An album filled with elite lyricism and an unapologetic style that captured the boom bap NY East coast sound. As one of the main inspirations in Cole's career, he realised that he'd compromised that legacy he aimed to have but putting out RnB type love jams, something Nas, a top 5 lyricist, would never dream of doing. Cole felt as though he had a responsibility to carry on the lyricism, but failed. Nas then took the song, making his own version: "Made Nas Proud". Reassuring Cole that to be considered one of the best you've got to experiment in order to find your own sound. Nas Co-sign acquired, Jermaine was fired up and ready to try something new.
The much needed change did come. for the next year and a half, Cole became a recluse. No social media activity, no singles or frequent features on anyone's new releases. Nothing. He took the biggest risk of career and made his Magnum Opus - 2014 Forrest Hills Drive.
Cole travelled the world, went hiking, got up early every day with the goal of learning something new. He went back to his old childhood home and gained inspiration for this new album, mainly from reminiscing about the first beats and songs he made on his old beat machine. That is where he learnt to sample, how to write, made his first beats and gave him the ambition to chase his rap career. He recycled the nostalgia and put it back into the process of recording and producing FHD. All of this is well documented in his four part TV special J. Cole: Road To Homecoming which aired on HBO. Luckily it is also on Youtube - J. Cole: Road To Homecoming
It is actually an essential viewing. Due to how personal and honest it is, you really get a sense of the dedication to the craft and Cole's passion for making music that he feels needs to be made, rather than making music that people are used to hearing from his peers. He needed this seclusion to find his niche. To find what makes J. Cole be J.Cole.
Within this 13 song track-list, is something of his very best work. Lyrics. Production. Pacing. Messaging. Every aspect of his life is covered in this project, and he manages to find a way of taking his own personal tales and expanding them to be relevant to the listener. A complete shift from the days of Work Out. No chains. No million dollar cars or houses. Just songs that contain actual lasting content that still slaps just as hard now as the day it came out. This album had no lead single, no videos, no marketing, not even any features. Just a release date. The risk paid off, and this album has currently over a million sold. This went on to win best album at the 2015 BET awards, before being snubbed at the Grammy's. Something that Cole still hasn't won. Allowing him to join the likes of Nas, Biggie and 2Pac, who have somehow never won the award. Unreal.
Cole was at the peak of his career thus far. This brought the attention from the biggest names within rap, encouraging Cole to carry on doing what he's doing. This caused A LOT of anticipation to build up in the hope he'd be able to match the success FHD brought him in the next project. Throughout the summer of 2016, it seemed Cole was teasing something. A playful song made its way onto streaming service called High for Hours, which was Cole riffing about the state of America at the time, largely talking about Obama's presidency coming to an end and the effect that would bring the country moving forward. This, however, was the only new music we got from him until his social media was seemingly cleansed. Another two new songs released with videos: "Everybody Dies" - a track that contains a ton of references to the new wave of Soundcloud rappers that were emerging at the time. Calling them out for being a fad with no longevity, with the threat that none of them would want to go toe to toe with a proper rapper. The second track "False Prophets" was definitely aimed at Kanye, who had dropped The Life of Pablo a few months before. An album that received mixed reviews, and saw the start of Kanye's infamous Twitter rambling shit fests. J. Cole pens the lyrics regarding someone he looked up to as an artist and the drop in quality that their new music is bringing:
"No doubt you see these niggas trippin'
Ego in charge of every move, he's a star
And we can't look away
Due to the days that he caught our hearts
He's fallin' apart, but we deny it
Justifying that half-ass shit he dropped, we always buy it
When he tell us he a genius but it's clearer lately
It's been hard for him to look into the mirror lately
There was a time when this nigga was my hero, maybe
That's the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take
'Cause I believed him when he said his shit was purer and he
The type of nigga swear he real but all around him's fake
The women, the dickriders, you know, the yes men
Nobody with the balls to say somethin' to contest him
So he grows out of control
Into the person that he truly was all along, it's startin' to show
Damn, wonder what happened
Maybe it's my fault for idolizing niggas
Based off the words that he rappin'
When come to find out, these niggas don't even write they shit
Hear some new style bubblin' up, then they bite the shit
Damn, that's what I get for lyin' to myself
Well, fuck it, what's more important is he's cryin' out for help
While the world's eggin' him on, I'm beggin' him to stop
Playin' his old shit, knowin' he won't top it, false prophets"
Definitely @ you Kanye mate.
Again, some silence from Cole, before he announced on Twitter his new album 4 Your Eyez Only was coming in December 2016. Accompanied by another documentary explaining the creative process behind it. This was Cole's first full on concept album. It told the story of his friend, James MacMillan, meeting a girl, falling in love, expecting a baby... but James couldn't escape his gang life. This ultimately caught up with him which sees James killed. The album starts with the sound of a tape being loaded into a tape player. The story then unfolds through all the songs, concluding with an 8 minute track where we learn that J. Cole is rapping from the perspective of James who is writing a letter to his unborn daughter. He has the fear that his involvement in the gang lifestyle is going to end badly and that he may never meet his baby. The final verse is back into the perspective of Cole who explains that 4 Your Eyez Only was the letter that James wrote to his unborn child. Cole put the story in the form of an album, so that the baby would be able to grow up and listen all about her dad's life and what caused it to end. 4 Your Eyez Only literally meant it was solely a story for the daughter. For HER eyes only. The album ends with the sound of the tape coming to an end. Signifying that the story is over, and now the daughter knows everything regarding her fathers life. It is a very well written project and the concept is extremely heavy. Some of the tracks are a bit mehhh but the highlights make up for it. Weirdly, this spawned a lot of anti J.Cole memes and opinions, often from the same people that were praising him two years prior at the fact FHD was platinum with no features. It seemingly became a trend to hate Cole and it is still common today. Odd.
Last year, after yet another social media cleanse, Cole announced that a new album was on the way in just four days time. KOD was his fifth studio album and title had three separate meanings. Kids On Drugs, Kill Our Demons and King Overdosed. This gave the album some ambiguity and served as a talking point for current issues within the younger generation, particularly drug abuse. Cole mirrored the sound of the clone-like trappers who have song after song about drinking lean and spending racks on jewellery, and put his own positive message within it. By using the same trappy 808 sound, he could penetrate the drug culture, but using lyrics that discourages it. With the death of Mac Miller a few months later from drug abuse, it cements how important the album's concept was and makes it more poignant to go back and listen to.
That is now three drastically different albums since his change in direction. Each one layered with a deeper meaning that holds high replay value. Something 2011 Mr Steal yo gurl Jermaine Cole would not have been putting out. It is a change that has seen him move away from Drake Hip-Pop to more Kendrick Hip-Hop, using his platform and message to complete his journey from up and comer to legend. His musical aspirations and the grind to get there has seemingly come full circle now, with possible signs that another shift is coming, a tweak to his approach. He has collaborated with some quite outlandish new artists, and some surprising features on albums from the likes of 21 Savage and Offset, not something that anyone really would've expected. That being said, he brings a presence to his guest verses that elevates the song, so let it continue Jermaine. He is paving a way for himself that is unique to any other artist in his position. The Middle Child single looks to be a checkpoint for his career, as he is using the persona to bridge the gap between old school classic hip-hop and the modern rap sound. We still waiting on the project The Fall Off, which he teased at the end of KOD, and we know he has been working hard on Dreamville's Revenge of the Dreamers III which will be coming soon, so we will have to wait to see how Cole grows further. It'll be a fun listen. COLE WORLD.
A turnaround so impressive that it needs to be broken down and looked at further, imo.
2009. The rise of "soft rap" was everywhere, with Drake being at the forefront of this after signing with Lil Wayne, exposing the world to his wannabe street G lyrics and songs, even though he came from a fairly wealthy family and lived in the suburbs of Toronto - hardly a struggle. As this sound was taking over, it is no surprise that the up and coming rappers of the time decided to move into this lane and take advantage of it's rising popularity. Cole hopped on board. His very first mix tape dropped in 2007, and it was time to follow it up by upping the scale of production.
Jay-Z launched Roc Nation Records, and Cole was Jay's first signing to the label. This VERY nearly wasn't a thing, after Cole waited for hours outside the Roc building, desperately trying to get jigga to hear the mixtape that Cole had worked so hard on, only for Jay to ignore him. Fuck, back home Cole went. But he tried again, and finally managed to get Jay to hear it which led to the signature on the Roc Nation contract.
The second mix tape, The Warm Up, dropped and this saw Cole's popularity boost, especially with the backing from Jay-Z, and Jermaine even managed to get a feature on The Blueprint 3. He was a featured artist in XXL's 2010 freshman class and it was clear that Cole was it. The next big thing. The only problem being that he still was using this soft tone and lazy, cliche love song lyrics in his rhymes. His first single under Roc Nation, Who Dat, was released on BET exclusively, and it was the first attempt of getting some consistent radio play. This worked, but unfortunately led to the next single, Work Out, which doesn't even get performed at live shows cause Cole is basically just embarrassed by it. I mean the lyrics:
"Let me see you get high, then go low,
now girl let me see you drop that thing down to the floor"
Yikes. Very very not good. But he needed radio play to boost sales and raise awareness of the inbound debut album. He then appeared as a feature on songs with Wiz Khalifa, Wale, Drake, DJ Khaled and more, putting his name about. He even began showing what he could do in terms of production. After producing some beats for Jay Z, and a lot of cuts from the first two mix tapes, he then cooked up HiiiPower for Kendrick, a big hit, and even managed to get some beats made that hosted guest verses from Missy Elliot, Miguel and Trey Songz. To see out 2010, the third mix tape, Friday Night Lights, became an almost cult classic. Wasn't the album that fans were expecting, but enough to tie them over until it finally released.
September 2011, the debut album Cole World; The Sideline Story was dropped. 218,000 copies sold first week. Number 1 album on Billboard. Gold status within three months, and drew fans in with the previously mentioned Missy Elliott feature, unexpected as she practically retired. The album was big. This saw him tour the states before confirming that he was already working on the next one in a radio interview a few months into 2012. Despite this success, he was the warm up act for Tinie Tempah (lol what the fuck) and was part of a UK tour.
Still hanging on to this Drake style formula that had got him his big break between 2009 and late 2011, rapping about the girl he loves and what he would do to have one night with her *yawn*, Cole began sharing on Twitter that he was working on production for most of the next album. This was the beginning of the change in J. Cole. He stated that the second album Born Sinner was going to shift things around, providing more tracks that had an aspect of social commentary, and more stories being told of how he got to where he is today. Born Sinner included tracks Forbidden Fruit, Villuminati and She Knows, which may be the best production work Cole has ever done. The beat is ridiculous. He even said that it was one of his own personal favourites in the discography. The video is also really good, and you should definitely watch it here: J.Cole - She Knows
The lyrics and content of Born Sinner was different. You can hear the hunger in his voice and it is easy to understand what exactly he was trying to convey in the artistry of the tracks. As expected, some of the songs on the album are pretty radio bait, but still a good listen and an indicator that a stylistic change was coming. Clearly, Cole was conscious of the perception that these washed down tracks was getting, leading to him putting out the song "Let Nas Down". In this track, he highlights all the career goals he had set out for himself and the legacy he wants to have. A legacy similar to Nas, who made his name putting out one of the best rap album's ever with Illmatic. An album filled with elite lyricism and an unapologetic style that captured the boom bap NY East coast sound. As one of the main inspirations in Cole's career, he realised that he'd compromised that legacy he aimed to have but putting out RnB type love jams, something Nas, a top 5 lyricist, would never dream of doing. Cole felt as though he had a responsibility to carry on the lyricism, but failed. Nas then took the song, making his own version: "Made Nas Proud". Reassuring Cole that to be considered one of the best you've got to experiment in order to find your own sound. Nas Co-sign acquired, Jermaine was fired up and ready to try something new.
The much needed change did come. for the next year and a half, Cole became a recluse. No social media activity, no singles or frequent features on anyone's new releases. Nothing. He took the biggest risk of career and made his Magnum Opus - 2014 Forrest Hills Drive.
Cole travelled the world, went hiking, got up early every day with the goal of learning something new. He went back to his old childhood home and gained inspiration for this new album, mainly from reminiscing about the first beats and songs he made on his old beat machine. That is where he learnt to sample, how to write, made his first beats and gave him the ambition to chase his rap career. He recycled the nostalgia and put it back into the process of recording and producing FHD. All of this is well documented in his four part TV special J. Cole: Road To Homecoming which aired on HBO. Luckily it is also on Youtube - J. Cole: Road To Homecoming
It is actually an essential viewing. Due to how personal and honest it is, you really get a sense of the dedication to the craft and Cole's passion for making music that he feels needs to be made, rather than making music that people are used to hearing from his peers. He needed this seclusion to find his niche. To find what makes J. Cole be J.Cole.
Cole was at the peak of his career thus far. This brought the attention from the biggest names within rap, encouraging Cole to carry on doing what he's doing. This caused A LOT of anticipation to build up in the hope he'd be able to match the success FHD brought him in the next project. Throughout the summer of 2016, it seemed Cole was teasing something. A playful song made its way onto streaming service called High for Hours, which was Cole riffing about the state of America at the time, largely talking about Obama's presidency coming to an end and the effect that would bring the country moving forward. This, however, was the only new music we got from him until his social media was seemingly cleansed. Another two new songs released with videos: "Everybody Dies" - a track that contains a ton of references to the new wave of Soundcloud rappers that were emerging at the time. Calling them out for being a fad with no longevity, with the threat that none of them would want to go toe to toe with a proper rapper. The second track "False Prophets" was definitely aimed at Kanye, who had dropped The Life of Pablo a few months before. An album that received mixed reviews, and saw the start of Kanye's infamous Twitter rambling shit fests. J. Cole pens the lyrics regarding someone he looked up to as an artist and the drop in quality that their new music is bringing:
"No doubt you see these niggas trippin'
Ego in charge of every move, he's a star
And we can't look away
Due to the days that he caught our hearts
He's fallin' apart, but we deny it
Justifying that half-ass shit he dropped, we always buy it
When he tell us he a genius but it's clearer lately
It's been hard for him to look into the mirror lately
There was a time when this nigga was my hero, maybe
That's the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take
'Cause I believed him when he said his shit was purer and he
The type of nigga swear he real but all around him's fake
The women, the dickriders, you know, the yes men
Nobody with the balls to say somethin' to contest him
So he grows out of control
Into the person that he truly was all along, it's startin' to show
Damn, wonder what happened
Maybe it's my fault for idolizing niggas
Based off the words that he rappin'
When come to find out, these niggas don't even write they shit
Hear some new style bubblin' up, then they bite the shit
Damn, that's what I get for lyin' to myself
Well, fuck it, what's more important is he's cryin' out for help
While the world's eggin' him on, I'm beggin' him to stop
Playin' his old shit, knowin' he won't top it, false prophets"
Definitely @ you Kanye mate.
Again, some silence from Cole, before he announced on Twitter his new album 4 Your Eyez Only was coming in December 2016. Accompanied by another documentary explaining the creative process behind it. This was Cole's first full on concept album. It told the story of his friend, James MacMillan, meeting a girl, falling in love, expecting a baby... but James couldn't escape his gang life. This ultimately caught up with him which sees James killed. The album starts with the sound of a tape being loaded into a tape player. The story then unfolds through all the songs, concluding with an 8 minute track where we learn that J. Cole is rapping from the perspective of James who is writing a letter to his unborn daughter. He has the fear that his involvement in the gang lifestyle is going to end badly and that he may never meet his baby. The final verse is back into the perspective of Cole who explains that 4 Your Eyez Only was the letter that James wrote to his unborn child. Cole put the story in the form of an album, so that the baby would be able to grow up and listen all about her dad's life and what caused it to end. 4 Your Eyez Only literally meant it was solely a story for the daughter. For HER eyes only. The album ends with the sound of the tape coming to an end. Signifying that the story is over, and now the daughter knows everything regarding her fathers life. It is a very well written project and the concept is extremely heavy. Some of the tracks are a bit mehhh but the highlights make up for it. Weirdly, this spawned a lot of anti J.Cole memes and opinions, often from the same people that were praising him two years prior at the fact FHD was platinum with no features. It seemingly became a trend to hate Cole and it is still common today. Odd. 
That is now three drastically different albums since his change in direction. Each one layered with a deeper meaning that holds high replay value. Something 2011 Mr Steal yo gurl Jermaine Cole would not have been putting out. It is a change that has seen him move away from Drake Hip-Pop to more Kendrick Hip-Hop, using his platform and message to complete his journey from up and comer to legend. His musical aspirations and the grind to get there has seemingly come full circle now, with possible signs that another shift is coming, a tweak to his approach. He has collaborated with some quite outlandish new artists, and some surprising features on albums from the likes of 21 Savage and Offset, not something that anyone really would've expected. That being said, he brings a presence to his guest verses that elevates the song, so let it continue Jermaine. He is paving a way for himself that is unique to any other artist in his position. The Middle Child single looks to be a checkpoint for his career, as he is using the persona to bridge the gap between old school classic hip-hop and the modern rap sound. We still waiting on the project The Fall Off, which he teased at the end of KOD, and we know he has been working hard on Dreamville's Revenge of the Dreamers III which will be coming soon, so we will have to wait to see how Cole grows further. It'll be a fun listen. COLE WORLD.
This was dope, would love to read one about Kendrick or Drake etc..
ReplyDelete