This album is an album that I've looked forward to since I heard of the artist J. Cole. It was recently released and we were in the middle of a publication cycle, so to fit this into the newspaper would've been hard. Since I was unable to write this for my newspaper, I really wanted to review it and give it a home [we don't really do much with reviews on our online publication outlet] and decided to review it for my blog. I'm also limited to words through the publication and so this gives me a chance to thoroughly review the album.
Artist: J. Cole
Album: Cole World: The Sideline Story
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
With the common notion in today's music world that "hip-hop is dead" J. Cole's album proves that there is still hope for this so-called breed of dead music. Cole World: Sideline Story was everything that it should have been and more and is one of the most intriguing debuts of a rapper since Kanye West's The College Dropout (2004).
Mentored by one of the greats of hip-hop Jay-Z, J. Cole made noise on the street and quickly became one of the most anticipated rap artists to be release music in a long time. When J. Cole started out with his debut Mixtape The Come Up, he never thought that he would've been signed to Rocafella records and would've never thought he had a chance to be a protege of Jay-Z.
After J. Cole had announced his album via Twitter he was quick to give the fans what they wanted. Even though the album was released later than originally slated, he made up for it by giving his fans special attention by his series of Any Given Sunday posts on his blog Dream Villain which gave his fans extra songs and videos for free.
Cole World: Sideline Story starts out with an introduction track which J. Cole has become famous for, he gives a simple rap on a 1 minute 22 second track, which captured the whole album perfectly. The Intro was followed by Dollar and Dream III, which had been a series of tracks he had also included on his mixtapes, which really followed his deep lyricism with very orchestrated and slow instrumentals.
Followed by Dollar and Dream III, J. Cole follows up with two up-tempo songs [which were both released prior to the album, one on a mixtape and one as a single] with the tracks Lights Please and Can't Get Enough, which were both deep with lyricism but lightened up the song with up-tempo instrumentals.
The Interlude was followed by Can't Get Enough, where J. Cole tells a story of how he was arrested the day he got signed to Rocafella records, which is is an enlightening tale of the album and adds a laugh in between the album. Sideline Story quickly puts the album back into the same feel with a well orchestrated instrumental and deep lyricism.
The most anticipated track of the album Mr. Nice Watch which features Jay-Z (which is why it is the most anticipated track, we've been awaiting a duo between these two since The Come Up) the song seems to be a different feel for both of them, but worked well. It was a different lyrical feel for J. Cole, but the instrumental was one that definitely draws in the listener. Even though it was the most anticipated track on the song, it feels different from the overall feel of the album.
The albums follows up with Cole World, which is a track that seems to follow Mr. Nice Watch well because its rather an up-tempo track. In the Morning was a track that was released prior to the album and features popular hip-hop artist Drake. The song has a less lyrical feel and a slower instrumental than than most of the album, which gives the feel of an R&B song.
The rest of the album follows the lyrical path with deep instrumentals and include the tracks: Lost Ones, Never Told, Rise and Shine, God's Gift, and Breakdown. All these tracks show the consistency of the album. The two remaining tracks Nobody's Perfect and Work Out [first single of the album], follow a different style from the album, but are two very solid parts of the album.
Overall the album is a solid and consistent album. The lyrical craftsmanship shows the prominence of J. Cole in the hip-hop world. The instrumentals were consistent and drew the listener in on almost every track. The album competes for one of the top hip-hop albums of the year, and a well anticipated album delivers as one of the best of the year. This album is a great listen for any hip-hop fan, as it truly does deliver as a wonderfully crafted album.
My Rating: 9/10 Stars
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