Apr 22, 2018

I'm convinced this is his best album after 12 listens. There are no bad songs. Brackets, Window Pain, and Once An Addict are some of his best songs ever. This album is the closest I've heard Cole sound like his mixtape days

 

Apr 22, 2018

Friends my least favorite but even that don't get a skip. Also hope he do more music videos for this album.

 

Apr 22, 2018

j cole is trash

 

Apr 22, 2018

fresh take

 

Apr 22, 2018

Someone on twitter made a video of Friends in reverse to try to unmask the names he blanked but twitter removed the video. Interesting

 

Apr 22, 2018

No wonder Motiv8 hits harder in the whip than anything else.

 

Apr 22, 2018

Most definitely.

 

Apr 22, 2018

man is on a whole other level from them mixtape days

 

Apr 22, 2018

Anyone else think there’s multiple hit records on this joint? We already know KOD is going to debut top 10 maybe even top 5. ATM is a smash. I think Kevin’s Heart is a hit too. d---.

 

Apr 22, 2018

He’s been better than the mixtapes since Born Sinner tbh, especially the Truly Yours EPs which should’ve been the second album.

I dig what he’s saying though. This is maybe the first joint where people think he’s living up to the potential he showed on the tapes. For me that’s FHD, which thematically is like a debut album and really changed the trajectory of his career. That’s when he gave you that mixtape feel but had such better song making ability from all the years on the Roc.

 

Apr 23, 2018

oh yea, and 1985 sound like some tribe called quest s--- . s--- is so hip hop

 

Apr 23, 2018

It’s crazy you say that my wife told me that haha

 

Apr 23, 2018

I'm thinking KOD, Photograph, ATM, Motiv8 and 1985.

 

Apr 23, 2018

 

Apr 23, 2018

We been knew

 

Apr 23, 2018

I finally sobered up. Ok here's my final verdict of this s--- after 10-15 listens. It MIGHT be the best e Cole album despite having a few flaws. I still think Photograph is weak and the subject of the song is somewhat basic af, hook doesn't help either. Motiv8 grew a bit on me, but s--- still sounds like a straight Kendrick track of d---. If I ain't in the mood, I'm skipping that s--- too. The rest is great. And the rest has some of the best Cole writing of his career. I don't remember hearing any corny s--- on here, dude was finally focused as in "focused album mode". That's what I've been saying for all these years b, and I think it's obvious to everyone who listens to this s--- how different it is from usual Cole album from that standpoint. The album concept isn't anything deep, but s--- worked. Think on the other albums Cole tried too hard to follow in the GKMC blueprint, I believe he made this s--- effortlessly, he just had fun making music and hit the zone. It sounds like that. Production is nice too, I like how s--- isn't over flooded with instrumentation, it's just straightforward. Rhodes/piano +808/bass + drums + some versatility as the track progresses with the brass sections. Same formula on the more trap beats, except the instrumentation is replaced by synths and plucks. That way you can catch attention of these trap listeners who rap over a simple a--- beats, but it doesn't sound cheap like that s--- does. Cole could've used BJ Chicago Kid or Musiq Soulchild on some hooks, but IMO it isn't that much of a setback as yall make it to be. If those vocals weren't pitched down, it would sound like a regular Cole singing. Nothing spectacular, but it's good enough. I think people should be more impressed by Cole coming up with those melodies on these kinds of beats where isn't much going on. The way he wrote those melodies could easily make him top 10 songwriter in the game if he decided to write for others. Mixing still ain't perfect, and on some tracks vocals are louder than on the others, and it also sounds like he has recorded this on more than 1 mic. Despite that, it's much better mixed than 4YEO. I can see them giving a Grammy to Cole for this for 3 reasons - 1. he's on Interscope and he's everywhere now (heard ATM yesterday multiple times during the NBA commercial breaks), expect him to be on SNL, Fallon, etc. too, 2. he made something that criticizes todays society like Kendrick did. 3. and actually made something that is not expected of him, flipped the sound a bit and it sounded good. Another plus is that it's only 42 minutes long. I give this s--- 8.5/10 for now. We'll see how it will age.

 

Apr 23, 2018

Yeah as much as I love this album, i hope it ages well like FHD did. Cuz I remember loving 4YEO so much for like the first month then after that it was every now and then.

 

Apr 23, 2018

Cole had that early 2000s Wayne flow on part of window pain too

 

Apr 23, 2018

anyone remember that time that dude thought J cole's head was a palm tree? lmao

 

Apr 23, 2018

If I'm cole, and I do have another project ready to drop, I drop my s--- on JUNE FIRST