J. Cole is the true definition of low-key, since his last album “2014 Forest Hills Drive,” he has gotten married, had a child, and recorded an album and singles with videos.

Cole’s latest album “4 Your Eyez Only” has only elevated Cole as a true rapper and lyricist that he was destined to be since the beginning. 

Throughout the album, Cole addressed many issues he’s faced, but also black America. Ranging from suicide and mental health to mass incarceration and its after effects on the black man, love, having and raising a family, his newborn baby girl and wife, how he’s perceived by some Americans, his neighbors (as a drug dealer), and more. This album is definitely a deeper examination of Cole, his life, and many black males in America. It’s an album about growth and question, examination and acceptance. The album has 10 tracks, and a visual to go along with the album (that’s available on TIDAL). 

“4 Your Eyez Only” Tracklist:

1. For Whom The Bell Tolls

“But what do you do when there’s no place to turn?/ I have no one, I’m lonely, my bridges have burnt down/ Lord, Lord—/ The bells getting loud, ain’t nowhere to hide/ Got nowhere to go, put away my pride/ Tired of feeling low even when I’m high/ Ain’t no way to live, do I wanna die?/I don’t know, I don’t know”

2. Immortal

“To die a young legend or live a long life unfulfilled/ Cause you wanna change the world/ But while alive you never will/ Cause they only feel you after you gone, or I’ve been told/ And now I’m caught between bein’ heard and gettin’ old/ Damn, death creepin’ in my thoughts lately/ My one wish in this bitch make it quick if the Lord take me/ I know nobody meant to live forever anyway/ And so I hustle like my niggas in Virgini-A/ They tellin’ niggas sell dope, rap or go to NBA, in that order/ It’s that sort of thinkin’ that been keepin’ niggas chained/ At the bottom and hanged/ The strangest fruit that you ever seen/ Ripe with pain, listen…”

Cole is referencing “Strange Fruit”, a song by Billie Holiday, which protested the lynching and killings of African-Americans, and alludes to the fact that black people are still facing struggles similar to their slave ancestors.

3. Deja Vu

“Sometimes you worry bout the things he can provide for ya/ Whenever you around I seem to come alive for ya/ I finally recognize the feelings that’s inside for ya/ Although I know your man and trust me he would die for ya/ These quiet thoughts of you been going on for years now/ I saw you in the party soft lips soft spoken/ I came and talked to you but homie interfered now/ He introduced you as his girl and I was heartbroken”

4. Ville Mentality

“How long can I survive with this mentality?/ How long can I survive with this mentality?/ Trials and tribulations/ I’m facing in this age of information, I hate this shit/ Cause niggas hit my phone when they want some shit/ Bitches hit my phone when they want some dick/ Damn it, won’t be long ‘fore I disappear/ Damn it, won’t be long ‘fore I disappear”

5. She’s Mine, Pt,1

“Every time you go to sleep you look like you in Heaven/ Plus the head game is stronger than a few Excedrin/ You shine just like the patent leather on my new 11’s/ You read me like a book like I’m the Bible, you the Reverend/ Yeah, I wanna tell the truth to you/ I wanna talk about my days as a youth to you/ Exposing you to all my demons and the reasons I’m this way/ I would like to paint a picture, but it’ll take more than a day/ It would take more than some years to get all over all my fears”

6. Change

“Change” is a precursor for his song “4 Your Eyez Only.” talking about his close friend James.

“Pistols be poppin’ and niggas drop in a heartbeat/ Scattered like roaches, a body laid on the concrete/ Body laid on the concrete/ Look, somebody laid on the concrete/ No time for that, ain’t no lookin’ back, cause I’m running too/ I made it home, I woke up and turned on the morning news/ Overcame with a feeling I can’t explain/ Cause that was my nigga James that was slain, he was 22/ (Last night at around…) He was 22”

7. Neighbors

“I guess the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope/ Sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope/ Well motherfucker, I am/ Some things you can’t escape; death, taxes, and a racist society that make every nigga feel like a candidate/ For a Trayvon kinda fate, even when your crib sit on a lake/ Even when your plaques hang on a wall/ Even when the president jam your tape/ Took a little break just to annotate/ How I feel, damn it’s late/ I can’t sleep cause I’m paranoid/ Black in a white man territory”

8. Foldin Clothes

“I wanna fold clothes for you/ Woke up this morning/ Feeling like the best version of me, so happy/ I, walked in the living room/ And saw you all alone on the couch, just napping/ I—I see a lot on your plate/ 9 months with that weight/ I know you tired so I wonder how I can help/ I get the basket and grab your clothes out the dryer/ Oh, I wanna fold clothes for you”

9. She’s Mine, Pt. 2

“Ib gon’ ask me how I did this shit/ I’m gon’ do a humble stunt act like I meant this shit/ That’s the ego taking credit for what God made/ Fuck this album shit, hey mama look what God made/ (She’s mine) Catch me/ (She’s mine) Don’t you, catch me/ (She’s mine) Don’t you, catch me/ I’ve fallen in love for the first time/ I wanna cry, and I ain’t even tryna fight it/ Don’t wanna die, cause now you’re here/ And I just wanna be right by your side/ On any night that you be cryin’ baby/ I dry your eyes, I dry your eyes”

10. 4 Your Eyez Only

“You probably grown now so this song’ll hit you/ If you’re hearing this, unfortunately/ Means that I’m no longer with you in the physical/ Not even sure if I believe in God but because you still alive/ He got me praying that the spiritual is real/ So I can be a part of you still, my pops was killed too/ So I know how part of you feels/ Maybe you hate me, maybe you miss me, maybe you spite me/ Life goes in cycles, maybe you’ll date a nigga just like me/ I hope not—I’m tired of dope spots”

The most prominent information he’s rapping about on this project as a whole is what’s most fascinating. Although these stories have elements of Cole’s life, a few songs, the last song in particular, shows his friend’s story. In “4 Your Eyez Only,” Cole is speaking of his friend that passed away, his story, what he wanted to pass down to his daughter, his thoughts, feelings, emotions, life story and more. The album is not just a look into Cole’s world, but it relative to many people. “4 Your Eyez Only” is a staple for the culture, it;s elements of realness is something needed in this world of Young Thug, Lil Boats’ and whatever else is out there. A staple of real Hip-Hop, if you open your ears. “J.Cole is boring”… No, J. Cole is for the people, people are so quick to want guns, violence, and hoes in music but cant respect real artistry or poetic flows. rap is poetry, a way of expression, expression of viewpoint, political problems, social problems, and more. This album addresses those issues with story telling, not only his stories and life, but his friend James. How we all have paths in life to choose. 

Purchase Here: 4 Your Eyez Only