Since his debut album in 2007, Jermaine Cole – better known by his rapper name J. Cole – has risen to fame through his lyrical prowess and storytelling ability, which he applies to discussions of social injustice, violence, and family. This is best observed through his 2016 album 4 Your Eyez Only, which revolves around violence in Black communities, particularly the murder of Cole’s childhood friend, James McMillan Jr.
One of the first songs of the album is powerfully entitled Immortal, where J. Cole reflects on the complexity of making an impact on a chaotic world: To die a young legend or live a long life unfulfilled / ‘Cause you wanna change the world / But while alive you never will / ‘Cause they only feel you after you gone, or I’ve been told / And now I’m caught between bein’ heard and gettin’ old. This dilemma of desperately wanting to leave your mark while feeling unappreciated until your death is one that is addressed in many songs, but nobody makes it feel as real and overwhelming as J. Cole.
A later song in the album provides a more optimistic view of the future that is to come in Change, which begins with the repetition of “my intuition is telling me there’ll be better days.” The upbeat tempo contrasts with the theme of inner peace that J. Cole finds through reflection and perspective: I sit in silence and find whenever I meditate / My fears alleviate, my tears evaporate / My faith don’t deviate, ideas don’t have a date / But see I’m growing and getting stronger with every breath / Bringing me closer to heaven’s doors with every step. The spiritual element in these rhymes suggests an element of not being fully in control of your destiny but trusting that everything will turn out all right. By the end of the song, however, this outlook collapses in the wake of McMillan Jr.’s death: We’re gathered here today to mourn the life of James McMillan Jr / A tragedy, another tragedy in the black community / We got to do better, people / 22 years old, this boy was too young. Overall, this song establishes that change is not only possible but necessary.
Later, J. Cole displays the vulnerability that he shares with a significant other in She’s Mine, Pt. 1: I wanna talk about my days as a youth to you / Exposing you to all my demons and the reasons I’m this way / I would like to paint a picture, but it’ll take more than a day / It would take more than some years to get all over all my fears. Navigating the complexities of his community, Cole realizes that it is essential to have someone by your side to ground you in reality.
To conclude the album, J. Cole shares a powerful message, meant for his daughter in 4 Your Eyez Only: You probably grown now so this song’ll hit you / If you’re hearing this, unfortunately means that I’m no longer with you / In the physical, not even sure if I believe in God / But because you still alive / He got me praying that the spiritual is real. This final song expands the previous themes to demonstrate that though it may be too late for current generations to make their impact, future generations have the opportunity to change the world.
I love the explanations you provide to expand upon the deeper meaning in the songs within the albums you analyze, Emmanuel. It is done so well and really allows readers to better familiarize themselves with the artist and his or her style, motives, and passion behind creating music. I always have liked J. Cole despite not calling myself one of his bigger fans. You can always hear the emotion behind his paper-smooth flow and lyrics. His songs are like a story, and he does a phenomenal job as the narrator. Good work!
When I first read your section on the song, Immortal, I immediately felt a kinship with the songwriter. The lyrics seem to spell out the very same things that I have been thinking about for the last few years. I think everyone, at some point in their life, want to be remembered by others, even after their death. As you said, this topic is one that many people before have covered, but I really love the way this artist depicted these thoughts in their song.
Something else that stood out to me was the last song, aka, the message that he meant for his daughter. As a person of the next generation, aka the generation that will have to deal with the issues that the older generations have caused for the last few decades, this feeling of helplessness and stress is very real. Especially when confronted with the thoughts of having to deal with global warming, the polarization of American society, etc. I feel almost overwhelmed and for someone else, someone from the previous generation, to acknowledge that feeling makes things feel much more real.
The way you organized and analyzed “4 Your Eyez Only” and the meaning behind the lyrics was intriguing. I had not previously heard of this artist or his music but the way that you described what each song means and then what it means together is very powerful/impactful and piques my interest. I also really like how you add so many of the lyrics. It makes it is easy to understand what you are trying to illustrate and gives a good insight into the album.