J Cole


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The Come Up (2007), 4/10
The Warm Up (2009), 6/10
Friday Night Lights (2010), 5/10
Cole World - The Sideline Story (2011), 5/10
Born Sinner (2013), 4/10
Forest Hills Drive (2014), 6/10
4 Your Eyez Only (2016), 6/10
KOD (2018), 4/10
The Off-Season (2021), 4/10
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North Carolina's rapper Jermaine Cole debuted with the mixtapes The Come Up (2007). The Warm Up (2009), which had 22 songs for a total of 74 minutes (and notably Lights Please, Royal Flush and Grown Simba) and Friday Night Lights (2010), with Too Deep for the Intro and In the Morning but also a lot of filler. Nonetheless, several songs of the mixtapes made him famous among the general public.

His first proper album, Cole World - The Sideline Story (2011), that contains Can't Get Enough, produced by Brian Kidd with perhaps the best best of Cole's career, In the Morning and Breakdown, debuted at the top of the charts, as did Born Sinner (2013), mostly produced by him in person with simple and radio-friendly beats, from which one can save Power Trip and Rich Niggaz.

Despite his ridiculous lyrics and a rather limited flow, Cole became one of the most popular and charismatic rappers in the USA. Forest Hills Drive (2014) is his classic album, containing at least three of his best songs: G.O.M.D. (one of his very best), 03 Adolescence and Fire Squad, a collaboration with producer Anderson "Vinylz" Hernandez.

The concept album 4 Your Eyez Only (2016) contains only ten songs but one is the nine-minute 4 Your Eyez Only, easily his artistic peak in a jazzy soundscape. Unfortunately the rest is filler, with the exception of the single Dejavu, produced by Anderson "Vinylz" Hernandez.

KOD (2018), largely produced by Cole himself, was the first album since the Beatles to send six songs simultaneously into the top-20 chart, notably Kevin's Heart, produced by Tyler "T-Minus" Williams with a trap-flavored beat, but also KOD and ATM. Most of the album is crap, however.

The Off-Season (2021), his first album since Born Sinner to feature guest rappers, is little more than a glorified mixtape remixed by expensive producers. 95 South boasts a majestic production by Matthew "Boi-1da" Samuels, and Pride is the Devil is produced by Tyler "T-Minus" Williams in a Latin fashion that evokes Shakira Cole does his best rapping in The Climb Back and Applying Pressure. All in all, a yawn-inspiring experience.

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