Dec 12, 2016 #RETURNOFJBTHEORIES first off what i realized is even though i still feel a couple more songs wouldn't hurt, the more i listen I'm able to connect the dots better now and feel the album doesn't NEED more songs ... its tough to structure this post because theres a lot of intersecting ideas and multiple scenarios for each song and s--- and of course the two perspective thing (cole and the street guy) but ima try my best lol ... i dont think the story is 100% chronological as i will explain more later but if we look at the album in the order which it it to me the theme goes like this for whom the bell tolls: -cole is depressed as usual lol -Street guy: describing the premonitions of his death which made him call cole and of course the whole exchange is described on 4 your eyez only -definitely not the first part of the story chronologically but a good way to open the album theme ... chronologically tho this comes right before title track as mentioned immortal: (chronologically this is really the first part that sets the stage of the life that the street guy is living and the mentality that he has) -right after the person being scared of their death (whether cole or street guy) we see the juxtaposition of a street n----- saying real n----s don’t die -for coles perspective theres the whole thing about whether or not he will live forever through his music, again cool juxtaposition here of an “immortal” street guy and cole contemplating becoming “immortal” through music deja vu: just sort of sets the stage further, there is where the two perspective thing really becomes tricky to me because theres nothing to hint at exactly whos perspective this if from, theres really three possible stories here imo ... 1. either this is just the story of how the street guy meets his baby mama, and him saying “she f--- with small town n----- i got bigger dreams” is him saying her current man is just a regular dude in a small town with a "clean" 9-5 job and he got bigger dreams cause hes dealing drugs and trying to make mad money 2. this is where s--- gets more real ... maybe this is cole saying the d--- dealing dude who she is already with is the one with a “small town mentality” and cole has a bigger dream to make it out of the hood with music ... even though hes boys with the street guy deep down he knows hes not living a “positive” life and wants the girl to be supported by something better ... the thing that supports this is the “although i know your man and trust me he would die for ya” ... shows the person who’s perspective the story is from is pretty close with whoever the girl is currently with (cole and the street guy maybe) ... its possible that even tho cole is boys with the street dude he was still crushing on his girl (of course this is back when they were kids so thats what makes it so interesting, because cole still ended up being the dude who this guy called when he was having premonitions of his death) ... either way this is definitely a flashback to when cole and the street dude were adolescents in the hood and presumably recounting the story of how both one of the characters met the girl of shes mine and the mother of the daughter in shes mine part 2 3. maybe this can even be a future story of someone trying to get with the street guys daughter when she has grown up but thats a classic JB reach lol, had to throw one of those in there ville mentality: this one is pretty straightforward how its from both perspectives -for the street guy hes stuck with the ville mentality of dealing drugs/living the street life to make it, i love how the “n----- play me never, give up my chain never” coming right after the young girl talking, not sure if u all caught that but its him saying the street mentality where you never “give up your pride” is equivalent to acting like a child ... the way he delivers these lines makes that clear as well -for cole its just about the small town mentality that makes him not know how to deal with the fame and makes him want to disappear -of course also introduces the concept of a fatherless daughter with the skit ... another comment on the destructive cycle ... is this the daughter who the album is about, is it a flashback to that daughters mother who the figure met in deja vu and who shes mine is about who also didnt have a father herself? is it just “another” unknown fatherless daughter? ... She’s mine Part 1: again obvious how its from both perspectives -the street guy doesn’t want to die anymore and maybe wants to change his street life ways because he is in love -cole just about his girl Change: -as i said the girl makes the street guy wants to change his ways -for cole its just a commentary on how the cycle has to change -The skit is where the whole chronological order of the album comes into question ... to me it is the clear climax of the album ... similarly to the other skit (the girl on ville mentality) either it is just “another” unknown black 22 year old who has been gunned down ... or it is actually coles friend who the album is about ... so then you would have to ask why that skit would get placed in the middle of the album ? -well to me this is the true story of how the guy who the album is about actually died, whether it actually happened in reality or it is just a story which cole is telling this is how i understand the situation - coles friend who the album is actually about, had a daughter at 19 as told in title track, and around the time he was 22 started having premonitions of his own death so had the whole exchange rapped about in 4 your eyez only with cole ... cole himself was in the process of trying to make it as a rapper at this time, if was also 22 himself then cole was in new york trying to make it, but no matter what they key is he definitely hadn't blown up yet ... so cole was gone from the ville, hadnt blown up yet, but of course coles friend knew cole was a rapper and had faith cole would make it, which is why he chose him as the one to tell the story ... the fact that cole has rapped "playing daddy to another n----s daughter" on a song before makes you wonder if this whole situation is actually true, and if all this time cole was just trying to wait for the right time to get a platform like this to tell this true story ... - from this point that is why it makes sense for it to be largely from cole's perspective, although i believe both perspectives are still largely reflected as you will see ... Neighbors: -as i said the placement of this song here after change and the skit is crucial -going by my theory, if you look at the album chronologically at this point the street guy is deceased ... so thats why if you see the songs from this point forward as being from only cole’s perspective it makes sense because the street guy is dead now ... but imo you could still argue its from both perspectives ... for cole the fact that he has made it without ever selling drugs but still having his neighbours think hes selling dope reflects the fact that even when you have changed as a person and made it, society as a whole still hasnt changed and just reflects upon you racist stereotypes ... so it makes you question why you should change (tying back to the previous song of course) ... -for the street guy his perspective comes into play with the “MFer i am” part ... whether that be a flashback for when he was alive actually selling dope or just cole bringing in that line as an ode to his now deceased friend ... either way even if none of the lines are actually from the street guys perspective it still reflects his perspective, because its cole saying even tho he has made it and never dealt drugs himself, to the racist side of society he is no different than his friend who was actually dealing drugs way back when, when he was alive Foldin Clothes: -mainly from coles perspective as being a “depressed star” who realized there is joy in the simple things -also again can be a “flashback” perspective for the street guy who is now deceased if we go by my chronological order of the album ... its just cole reflecting on a situation which the street guy MIGHT have had with his girl ... for a moment not acting tough and just “folding clothes” with his girl ... this theory is backed up by that last verse on the song which essentially covers this exact thing really well ("acting hard" in all facets of life) Shes Mine part 2: -could be another flashback to the street guy and the joy he felt when his daughter (who the album is obviously about) was born -of course the thing which makes this song the craziest is the rumors that cole just had a daughter himself so obviously its relevant for him and he was drawing upon that emotion to make the song 4 Your Eyez Only - nothing needs to be explained here, brings everything together so basically (my best shot at it chronologically): street guy just living his life thinking he is untouchable because even if you die living the street life you will be immortal, then he meets a girl in deja vu so he questions how long he can live with the ville mentality, then you just go through the whole rest of the process ... the girl becomes his (she's mine part 1), even though hes still selling dope (neighbours) he “drops the tough guy” s--- and starts doing domestic things with the girl like folding clothes together ... they have a baby who of course is the girl who the album is about and really makes him want to change his ways (she's mine part 2) ... but then he starts having the premonitions of his death which is “for whom the bell tolls” and he knows its too late for him to try to change so he calls cole to make this album for his daughter, and then of course out of that we get “4 your eyez only” ... change is really the last song chronologically because at the end of it is the recounting of the character's death and in this song it is a larger commentary of cole questioning this whole cycle and saying s--- has to change ... to me thats the dopest part: to imagine change being the last song along with that ending skit, and also why i said change is the climax of the album ... although the placement is perfect in the middle considering its the climax, and of course 4 your eyes only has to be last ... from coles perspective making the album, imagine if this truly was a true situation that happened to cole, and then putting in that skit recounting the friends death, after all those years of saving this story for the right platform, i can't even really put into words what that must feel like ... listen to change again with that perspective, imagine the whole story is true and the ending skit is coles true recounting of his friend's death way back when they were kids (22) and this same friend had previously called him with premonitions of his own death as recounted in the title track its kind of like carlito’s way if any of you have seen it, where the street guy wanted to change his ways, in the case of the album for his girl and then even more when he had his daughter, but before it was too late he started having premonitions of his death
Dec 12, 2016 Didn't read. Will read a paragraph each day and let u know what I think in 2 years @2014 Forever Lives JCN
Dec 12, 2016 I thought we would never see these theories again. And I actually read everything from this. Wow. Your theories about Cole stealing the girl from his friend (Melissa?? ) in Deja Vu and Changes being the actual ending NEVER LEAVE US AGAIN
Dec 12, 2016 I read it. Great write up and theory of the album. It actually make alot of sense. Alot of what you are saying is how I interpreted the album too
Dec 12, 2016 4YEO title track starts off saying "n----s be dying on the daily, it seems my dreams been fading for too long, the consequences deadly" Is this relating back to Deja Vu? Deja Vu parallels Dreams/Power Trip but this time from Cole's friends perspective. They both grew up with Dreams but the street guy stayed in the streets and waited on his dream too long?
Dec 12, 2016 glad to see theres at least one person who actually read the post lmao but yeah the deja vu concept is definitely something worthy of more theorizing ... tbh i didn't want to come up with any theories for that song, i wish it was straightforward but there is definitely something more than meets the eye with that song ... some of the lines like the ones i referenced really make you wonder, thats why i had to go all out investigation with that s--- lol ... i hope we will get some more answers for that one at some point two people who actually read it !!!!! thats a JB Theory Post All-Time Record lmao
Dec 12, 2016 the hook really gets me "she f--- with small town n----s i got bigger dreams" is it cole saying this or the street guy ?? theres a reason cole didn't just cut this song from the album when exchange blew up, it was crucial to the storyline ... which it doesn't seem like at first theres definitely something more than meets the eye with that song
Dec 12, 2016 Also, what do y'all think about Change? I feel like that's the toughest song to pick up on. It seems like the first verse is Cole reflecting on how to change things. 2nd verse is all street mentality 3rd verse so underrated. Prodigal son line makes it seem like the street guy is starting to understand his faults and is starting to come to God. Could apply to both perspectives tho. 4th verse applies to a situation both Cole and his friend may have been in growing up. At the end though, Cole's perspective calls it poison but street mentality calls it real The difference between poison vs real continues in the outro as the news reporter is saying this senseless killing has to come to an end while the background voices are saying "swear to god imma k--- these n----s"....
Dec 12, 2016 theres so much with that track, like i said its the definitive climax to me ... " Yeah, prodigal son, got a new gun, this one Don't run out of ammo lately been working on my handles Can I ball, become a star, and remain my self If I fall, dust it off and regain my self f--- 'em all, they don't know all the pain I felt I'm in awe, after all the fame I felt I evolve (has to be cole cause of this part) I no longer bury demons, I be a vessel for the truth Until I'm barely breathing, I'm singing " those lines bolded are reminiscent of coles verse on a star is born ... but then if you look at a lot of the rest of the song the street guys perspective is definitely reflected i think its really just meant to reflect that while cole was trying to make it as a star his street friend was still back home living that same life just trying to make it as well ... idk the lyrics on that song are definitely the most layered and least straightforward of the whole album, its definitely one that we will have to look into more ... perhaps will take many more listen to continue uncovering more things
Dec 12, 2016 only reason i aint read it yet is cause i'm on addy, this is gonna be a rabbit hole for me. best i study and read this tonight loool
Dec 12, 2016 i have a question for y'all though, seriously ... do you think the guy referenced who died at the end of change is meant to be the main figure in the story who the album is about ... or is it just another friend of cole's who died just to further show that the street life is detrimental ... i think it makes much more of an impact if you consider it being the actual guy who the album is about, whether it is or not, and whether this situation actually happened to cole or not
