4 Your Eyez Only
4 Your Eyez Only

       One consistent theme I hammer into each one of these posts is the nostalgia and memories that music brings us. The artist I’m covering today, J. Cole, is one who truly creates lyrical masterpieces that can transport you back in time with a single listen. I can remember during my freshman year of high school, around when I first started getting into music, hearing a J.Cole song for the first time and instantly feeling enlightened by hypnotic beats and powerful lyrics. With a majority of songs that J. Cole creates, he tells a story about life, love, struggle, and everything in between. With rap music leaning towards bass boosted beats and catchy choruses, Cole remains as one of the top artists in the game solely on his lyricism (with occasional songs being seen as “hype” songs). J. Cole’s work has been by my side through the past few years of my life: on the bus going to sporting events, walking into school, while doing homework, in the car with friends, etc. With this being shared, I think it’s appropriate to share with you all one of my favorites: J.Cole.

       Jermaine Lamarr Cole was born on January 28, 1985, at a U.S. Army base in Frankfurt, West Germany. His father was a soldier who left his mother, a German postal worker, when Cole was young  which led to Cole’s mother and his brother to move to a trailer park in  North Carolina where they struggled financially. Cole found his passion for music in North Carolina where he was a violinist in the Terry Sanford Orchestra and eventually taught himself how to rap. Cole moved to New York and attended Saint Johns University where he graduated magna cum laude in 2007 and continued to pursue his career in music (1).

       After dropping his debut mixtape in 2007, and his second mixtape in 2009, he caught the attention of industry superstar Jay-Z, who signed Cole to his label company, Roc Nation. In 2011, Cole’s first album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, was released, taking the world by storm, receiving an incredible “certified platinum status”. After much success with his second album, Born Sinner, as well as his debut album, Cole’s next drop was anticipated to be another amazing hit. He did not fail to deliver. In 2014, Cole dropped arguably his most well known album 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which premiered at number one on the Billboard top 200, received the Billboard Rap Album of the Year award, and was eventually certified double platinum. In 2016, Cole dropped 4 Your Eyez Only, also reached number one on the Billboard top 200, and his 2018 album KOD made history by breaking Spotify’s opening day streaming record and also being the first artist to have three “simultaneous singles on the Billboard Top 100.”

       Since then, Cole has dropped a handful of hit singles, along with establishing his own label titled “Dreamville,” which shares a name with his nonprofit foundation which looks to give opportunities to children from his hometown. Personally, I feel that most people have a general image of violence and illegal practices in their head when they think of rap music and truthfully for good reason; the bulk of rap today revolves around explicit content. However, J. Cole blesses ears with powerful messages, relatable experiences, and motivational statements. He is truthfully one artist who I feel has a song for every situation and has even gained the attention of president Obama for his music and contributions back to his community. There are several songs that I could consider my favorite by J.Cole, but currently I have been listening to “Neighbors” off of 4 Your Eyez Only which covers themes of racism in our current society.

 

source: https://www.biography.com/musician/j-cole

The majority of the biography portion is adapted from this source.

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