Review Summary: On 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole creates a focused, in-depth narrative, with a sound catered 4 Cole Fanz only.
In the 2 years between J.Cole’s multi-platinum project 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and his new project 4 Your Eyez Only, Hip-Hop has experienced a cultural shift in mainstream media. Gone are the days of platinum Rick Ross albums, and welcome a generation of Boat-themed rappers and ‘savage’ superstars. The last time we saw J.Cole, Drake hadn’t delved into Dancehall, Kendrick Lamar hadn’t released one of the most important hip-hop albums of the 21st century, and Anderson Paak hadn’t just yet sprung the new neo-soul movement we are seeing in 2016. With such a smorgasbord of sounds in modern day Hip Hop, it’s hard to see where J.Cole’s somewhat nostalgic sound would fit on the table. However, 4 Your Eyez Only sees J.Cole push his way into the crowded culture of Hip-Hop, reserving a section dedicated to only true fans of the Cole movement.
At 10 tracks long, 4 Your Eyez Only is a lot more focused than 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Throughout its 43 minute runtime, we get J.Cole rapping, and singing over Jazz-infused boom bap, and atmospheric Trap beats. In a few places we get Cole delving into a more soulful, upbeat sound on songs like Change and Foldin Clothes, but overall we are getting J. Cole at his darkest and moodiest. The album’s plot centers around the murder of Cole’s friend James McMillan Jr, a drug dealer who fell victim to gang violence. On songs like Immortal, we find Cole detailing the life of James as a drug dealer, citing him as a ‘Kingpin’, as well as reminiscing on his own life growing up in North Carolina. Cole even rhymes from the perspective of McMillan on the title track 4 Your Eyez Only, in which acts as an ode to the daughter of McMillan. Cole details the life of a drug dealer on this track. and the struggles McMillan went through in order to provide for his family. On 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole emphasizes on the story of the album with the same level of lyricism he’s always possessed; however, it isn’t diminished by the extensive runtime that has plagued Cole’s previous projects. Instead, Cole sticks to a more cohesive story line, and length, that is designed to enthrall listeners, rather than overwhelm them.
However, despite the riddance of an overwhelming length, Cole’s lyrical skill is still diminished by Cole’s uninspired attempts at soul inspired ballads. Whilst Cole isn’t the worst singer in Hip-Hop, his lifeless, raspy attempts at falsettos turn the album’s croons, into cringes. On cuts like Vile Mentality, Cole’s falsetto dwindles into a small screech at the highest octave his voice is capable of reaching, and is drowned in vibrancy of the smooth, jazz instrumental. While, on tracks like Foldin Clothes, Cole’s attempt at animated, soulful singing is outweighed by the instrumental distorted bass. Whilst the plot builds throughout the romantic themes of these songs, the juxtaposition of the sounds on this album diminish the flow of the narrative. On one hand we have these spacious, bangers where Cole commands the beat to exemplify the urgency of the narrative; and on the other hand, we have Cole failing to find any control, or substance, on the more jazz-inspired ballads.
Overall, 4 Your Eyez Only is a project that isn’t going to sway any new J.Cole fans. Despite his increased level of focus and content control on this project, the same issues reappear that pushed Cole off the smorgasbord of Hip-Hop in first place. In a genre where aesthetic acts as the propeller to make a message travel, Cole can’t stick to one cohesive sound in order to truly articulate the depth of the album’s narrative. There a times on here where we see a fiery and passionate Cole come to life over these very bass heavy, reverberated beats, and we get very menacing and detailed insights into the life of a drug dealer and the struggles of being a rap superstar. However, these polarizing moments are weighed down by Cole’s inability to truly orchestrate a passionate ballad, an issue which occurs all throughout this album’s 10 tracks. So while For Your Eyez Only won’t place Cole on any unanimous pedestals , advocates of Cole’s previous projects will happily welcome him back into the buffet, even if he’s a mere appetizer for the rest of us.
