J.Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive

J.Cole
2014 Forest Hills Drive
2014

2014 Forest Hills Drive is the third release from J. Cole and to date is one of his best albums. The record is ambitous to a fault, and while exploring brutally honest themes J. Cole still manages to keep the album relatable. One of my favorite parts of the record are the beats, they feel classic like some of the greatest hip hop albums have been. The beats don't try to be progressive and explore new places hip hop can go, instead they serve as the vehicles for the lyrics while letting you still bob your head right along.

My one criticism is the final track "Note to Self". It is a very interesting and complex song, I really dig it, but then J. Cole goes into his thank yous... 10 full minutes of thank yous. For most people they could just press skip, but for this project I'm dedicated to listen to every second of the album so I listened to them all, and it was brutal. He repeats himself and rambles on and on. It's almost as bad as the old comedy skits rappers used to foist upon us. 2014 Forest Hills Drive is still a stellar album, check it out and enjoy it.

8.6 out of 10 stars