Cole’s heart is in the right place, he just doesn’t possess the artistic vision or acuity to pull off such a work. Plenty of MCs rap about dead friends, and while there is no doubt that J. The concept for the album isn’t new Kendrick Lamar rapped from the perspective of ill-fated friends on a track from Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, and The Roots produced a reverse-chronological biopic of a fictional dead man in Undun. Cole’s childhood friends who fell victim to gun violence. Cole’s most explosive album yet–which is why it’s hard not to be a little disappointed with the final product.Ĥ Your Eyez Only is centered loosely around a narrative that follows the life of a man named James, presumably one of J. After witnessing the promising footage in the film and hearing two blazing, confident tracks, the world braced itself for J. With the film’s second video, “False Prophets,” Cole made headlines and blew up twitter feeds for calling out Kanye West, criticizing his egoism and lamenting how the Chicago rapper will never top his “old shit.” The fact that the track dropped a week before Kanye met with president-elect Donald Trump makes Cole seem like even more of a clairvoyant. Over a head-bobbing beat, Cole calls out all the “eight week rappers” and “Lil’ whatevahs,” voicing his discontent at the rise of a weak generation whose shortcomings were showcased in the XXL Freshmen Class of 2016 cypher. “Everybody Dies” features Cole riding through town on the back of a pickup truck, spitting rhymes like bullets.
The film also included two new incendiary tracks, each with an accompanying music video.
Cole released a short film documenting the creative process behind the album, with footage of Cole and musical collaborators at work in the studio and conversations between Cole and his friends.
Days before the release of his new album 4 Your Eyez Only, J.