Review Summary: Are his mixtapes better?
I never listened to any of J.Cole's mixtapes, so this album is my only view on his ability as a rapper. In short, he is kind of boring on this album. The album fares even worse with it being only J.Cole nearly saying the same thing on multiple songs and having nearly useless guest appearances by Jay-Z and others, having no impact on purpose just to have Cole spit lack luster verses on 2/3 of the songs.
While the album has some good tracks, "Who Dat" and "Cant Get Enough" jump out instantly, it just seems that on the rest of the album where he is not directly talking about himself, Cole does not show his personality, just that of Jay-Z, and other mainstream rappers. Take the track, "Mr. Nice Watch". Is it just me or did Jay-Z write the entire song? The massive douchitude that was that track did a disservice to the main theme of the album.
Something else, there is too many versions of Cole being juggled throughout the album. The child recapping his fatherless upbringing, the adult saying that the finally made it, and the other Cole who changes from one song to the next. The multitude of personalities that Cole wants mainstream Cole to be just bring down the album because it takes away from the sincerity of some tracks, and adds to the distaste of others.
While the lyrics are definitely the worst part of the album, the production is some of the best that I have heard, and helps to keep attention on the tracks when Cole's delivery becomes lackluster.
Recommended Tracks
-Who Dat
-Cant Get Enough
-Sideline Story
