2014 Forest Hill Drive
Named after the address of his childhood home in North Carolina, 's third studio effort was released with no supporting singles, and there are no featured artists, either, because is one of those personal, conceptual, and 'heavy' albums. Most importantly, it's admirable bordering on excellent, sure to inspire returning fans to herald it as a classic even if it doesn't woo the skeptical, casually wandering out of its intro with two smooth and soulful numbers that are so free, they're just shy of being clumsy. Key cut 'January 28th' puts gut-wrenching hard truths of the type ('What's the price for a black man's life?/I check the toe tag, not one zero in sight') next to wobbly wordplay that could have been lifted off some old LP ('Flow is bananas/Here, peel this back'), while 'Wet Dreamz' finds the producer offering a beat that's rather or inspired, and then slathering it in plush strings for a perfect single on an album that refuses singles. Later, 'No Role Modelz' mixes a tribute to the late actor James Avery ('Rest in peace Uncle Phil'), with a bubbling beat that's a variation on cloud-rap (co-produced by and ), and a snarky, snappy set of put downs that are like an elevated ('I don't want no bitch from reality shows/Out of touch with reality hos'), but all these flights of fancy fly freely since the album lacks an anchor. Comes off as a great, experimental, and advancing mixtape, but it's insider to a fault, as slight as that fault might be.
2014 Forest Hill Drive Tracklist
Forest Hill Drive Torrent
EDITORS’ NOTES J. Cole's third album is a huge leap forward, offering his most personal and willfully independent release to date. Titled after the North Carolina address where he grew up, 2014 Forest Hills Drive presents unflinchingly deep examinations of the rapper's coming-of-age years (“03’ Adolescence,” “No Role Modelz”). The production gets lush and soulful (“G. D.”) as he looks at his beginnings and where his life has led him, and his delivery is as subtle and sophisticated as the beats surrounding it (which Cole himself also made).
2014 Forest Hills Drive Poster
The emcee's celebrity never gets the best of him—it's tough to imagine another rapper willing to chronicle his awkward exit from virginity like Cole does on 'Wet Dreamz”—which helps make this album a thoughtful, nuanced picture of the journey from boy to man. EDITORS’ NOTES J. Cole's third album is a huge leap forward, offering his most personal and willfully independent release to date. Titled after the North Carolina address where he grew up, 2014 Forest Hills Drive presents unflinchingly deep examinations of the rapper's coming-of-age years (“03’ Adolescence,” “No Role Modelz”). The production gets lush and soulful (“G. D.”) as he looks at his beginnings and where his life has led him, and his delivery is as subtle and sophisticated as the beats surrounding it (which Cole himself also made). The emcee's celebrity never gets the best of him—it's tough to imagine another rapper willing to chronicle his awkward exit from virginity like Cole does on 'Wet Dreamz”—which helps make this album a thoughtful, nuanced picture of the journey from boy to man.