“4 Your Eyez Only” is J. Cole’s best yet

The difference between a good album and a great album is the meaning behind it.

When I heard that J. Cole was releasing a new record, I immediately thought of his Grammy nominated third studio album, “2014 Forest Hills Drive.” The production was so successful that Cole became the first artist in 25 years to go platinum without any features. Songs like “No Role Modelz,” “A Tale of Two Citiez” and “Wet Dreamz” topped the charts for months and are numbers I still listen to today. So, when I skimmed through “4 Your Eyez Only,” I was initially disappointed. There were only a few tracks that had bass-heavy beats or quotable lyrics.

However, when I sat down and let the project consume me, everything changed. Listening to the themes behind each song, and not just the instrumental, opens your “eyez” to the bigger picture.

The album, as confirmed by co-producer Anthony Parrino (AKA Elite) in a recent interview with Complex, is told from the perspective of Cole’s now passed friend, who goes by pseudonym James McMillan, Jr., and the trials and tribulations he faced. Cole relates to most of them, the two sharing a similar upbringing. The one difference is that while Cole made it out of the streets, McMillan did not, instead entering the drug game at a very young age.

Early on, tracks like “Immortal” and “Change” especially highlight McMillan’s moral and physical struggles in the streets, the second song even sampling his funeral service after he was killed in a shooting at just 22 years old. While “Immortal” covers the benefits the drug game provides, such as money and reputation, “Change” deals with the moral and even spiritual struggles of receiving an income through illegal activity, a common problem for those in McMillan’s situation. “Neighbors,” my favorite song on the album for its combination of an incredibly produced beat and a deeper meaning, represents Cole’s experience with the drug game he was steered away from. The track recounts an incident earlier this year in which a SWAT team, due to a tip from neighbors, raided a home he rented as a recording studio. The reason? They assumed Cole and his friends were drug dealing out of the house. This track covers racial prejudice most deeply, and while it is touched on in other places throughout, nothing compares to the line “Some things you can’t escape/Death, taxes, and a racist society/That make every n—- feel like a candidate/For a Trayvon kinda fate/Even when your crib sit on a lake/Even when your plaques hang on a wall/Even when the president jam your tape.” The bitterness and emotion conveyed in that portion alone sends chills down my spine.

As a change of pace, “She’s Mine Pt. 1” and “She’s Mine Pt. 2” deal with themes of love and are dedicated to both of Cole and McMillan’s significant others and children, respectively. The relationships each hold dearly draw parallels from each other, allowing the songs to encompass both of their feelings. Part 1, while only containing one verse, is a sentimental and emotional ballad in which Cole expresses the pair’s dedication and appreciation for his lover. Part 2 picks up where Part 1 left off, with an interjecting cry of an infant letting the listener know that the person of interest has changed. In this melody, Cole contemplates if he or McMillan are strong enough to support the people they care about despite the decisions they make. The song directly before, “Foldin Clothes,” discusses a simple aspect of home life-laundry. However, the chore goes so much deeper as it shows Cole’s desire for a simpler life, expressed in the first track, “For Whom The Bell Tolls.”

And finally, as the last and arguably most important melody on the production, “4 Your Eyez Only” deserves a paragraph of its own. The nine-minute finale ties themes of love and morals together so powerfully that after it was finished, I sat and reflected on what I had just heard. The first verse details McMillan’s struggle in making clean money due to his criminal record, and asks his daughter to forgive him in case he reverts to his old lifestyle. The second introduces the listener to McMillan’s life before his daughter was born, specifically how his dreams were crushed early on because of drug dealing and how he got into the game. In the third verse, McMillan pleads that he doesn’t want his daughter to go through the same struggle, and instead wants her to take his life as a lesson and get out of the streets. However, in the final verse, the perspective switches to that of Cole himself, as he speaks directly to his friend’s daughter. He talks about a haunting phone conversation in which McMillan reveals he may not have much time left and asks Cole to pass his story onto his daughter, and then ends the album with a line that leaves his audience with something to think about: “Nah, your daddy was a real n—-, not ’cause he was hard/Not because he lived a life of crime and sat behind some bars/Not because he screamed, “F— the law”/Although that was true/Your daddy was a real n—- cause he loved you/For your eyes only.”

All in all, J. Cole’s release is an emotional rollercoaster. While the record is unimpressive upon a quick glance, with a measly 10 tracks and clocking in at a hasty 45 minutes, each track, each minute is an out of body experience. It’s almost as if the listener adopts a perspective of the world through McMillan’s eyes, something only gifted storytellers like Cole are able to achieve. While this production may not have the bangers “2014 Forest Hill Drive” had, the story and meaning behind it make me value “4 Your Eyez Only” so much more. I wouldn’t hesitate to say that this could even be the best rap album of 2016, competing with Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book” for the coveted top spot.