2014 Forest Hills Drive
Fayetteville, NC
28303
The
above address is a mere 2 and a half hours from where I currently reside in
Columbia, SC. The house here lies in a
part of town where its dangerous to be out past dark. This same house is featured on the cover of J. Cole’s newest album, and
is where the rapper spent the latter of his childhood. Cole has come a long way since his days at
Forest Hills, and his latest album reflects on his adolescence spent at this household as well as his
fame. 2014 Forest Hills Drive is a deeply reflective album that is both
entertaining and thought provoking.
 |
| Cole has since purchased the home and has made it a safe haven for families in need of a place to stay |
The opening track of the album, "Intro", lyrically foreshadows what is to come. The soft vocals and piano guide us into the past, into the past of Jermaine Cole. After
the slow fade of the first track, we’re eased into the next track, “January 28th”,
which sports a beat that feels something like waves lapping against a beach. The song is good, but really nothing special, nothing
like the next track, “Wet Dreamz”. The
song has everything; lyrically and musically.
“Wet Dreamz” is a superb example of what sets J. Cole apart from other
rappers: his ability to tell a story. He takes listeners back to his first time having
sex, perhaps in a little more detail than most would prefer. I won’t lie, I blushed a little the first
time I heard it. But this depth of
detail isn’t like the often crude and vulgar depictions of sex heard in the world of rap; this one
is innocent, playful, and unforgivingly relatable.
The
listener is then swiftly brought back into the harsh reality of Cole’s hometown
and childhood. The next track, “’03
Adolescence” opens with the simple but effective line “I grew up a fucking
screw up”, and we realize that play time is over. Cole spits anecdotally about growing up
without a father, and about a conversation with a good friend who was much
worse off than Cole, which kept him in check.
This is all rolling over catchy and slightly repetitive beats. The songs dabble around a theme of struggling
to “stay alive in the city where too many niggas die”. The lyrics put things in perspective for many listeners and drive home the point that this was a different time, and a different J. Cole. Cole plays with perspective in “A Tale of 2
Citiez”, writing the first refrain about his friend being robbed at gunpoint,
while the second refrain is from the point of view of the robber; only the
pronouns of the stanza switch. The is not only lyrically creative, but it shows how easy it can be to fall into the trap of criminality. The songs
are musically dramatic as well, featuring a chorus of singing women that sound
eerily like that “there’s something behind you” feeling in horror movies.
As soon as I start to become sympathetic for
Cole, he begins to come off cocky and offensive in “Fire Squad”. I am no doubt a Cole fan, but I’m not sure if
he’s earned “the crown” that he speaks of. Not to say he can't reach legend status, he just has yet to ripen into a true super star. He then goes on to take jabs at multiple white artists, including Justin
Timberlake, Eminem, and Macklemore. He
claims that “white people have snatched the sound”, which is a ridiculous claim
considering that rap and hip hop should not be an exclusive “black only” club,
although sometimes it may seem like it. As a white woman who is a huge hip-hop fan, I was a little disappointed to hear these lines. Sure, rap is historically black, but we don't see any white country artists taking jabs at Darius Rucker. To
anyone breaking the stereotypes in the music world, I say more power to
ya! However, as much as I dislike this
verse, its just too catchy to not sing along with, which is a testament to Cole’s
musical talent.
We
then see the album take a turn to focus on Cole’s newfound fame, “Hollywood
Cole” as he now calls himself. And here comes the
smash hit in my mind; the homerun of the album: “No Role Modelz”. The beat is powerful and room shaking, it’s
the kind of song that you never knew you needed until you found it. The song speaks on the corruption of morals,
observing how too many women are “shallow but the pussy deep”. Then, almost 3 minutes into the song, the
voice of George W. Bush makes an entrance into the rap classic (bet you thought
you’d never hear “George W. Bush” and “rap classic” in the same sentence). The music cuts completely, so we can truly
focus on W stumbling over his words as per usual. “There’s an old saying in Tennessee, I know
it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee, that says fool me once, shame on…shame on
you. Fool me…can’t get fooled again.” Cole then cuts back with “Fool me one time
shame on you, fool me twice can’t put the blame on you, fool me three times,
fuck the peace signs, load the chopper let it rain on you”.
Why Bush? Well, maybe it's a loving tribute to the charming former president, or perhaps Cole is making a point here. The song is about how he's had no role models, and perhaps he puts Bush in here because even though he was our president, we couldn't even look up to him. He's saying that even a former president wasn't a role model for this country (I think this argument could be made with much more evidence using our current president, but that's a discussion for another time). Either way, “No
Role Modelz” is certainly the climax of the album, and from that point on, we
wind back down into some classic Cole love songs. There’s a verse from “Hello” that still gives
me chills: “I always thought that we would be together. I always knew that we would be together. But I don’t wanna wait forever”. That’s real, and we’ve all been there. Cole devotes a song to his mother as the
album continues to wind down, and finally sums up the message of the entire
album with “Love Yourz”. The album
should have ended there, but it doesn’t.
Cole finishes with a 14 minute “Note to Self” outro that is hard, if not
impossible to get through.
2014 takes
us on a journey that can be most nearly described as an emotional rollercoaster,
even for those who’s life experiences relate so little to the harsh realities
of growing up in the ghetto. That takes a true artist. Cole’s
lyrical genius is diverse, and his musical talent does not fail to deliver. This album is a continuation of Cole’s ascension
to hip hop stardom, and is nothing short of timeless.
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