Seeing What is 4 Your Eyez Only
The anticipation of J. Cole's fourth studio album, 4 Your Eyez Only, was very real. The out of the blue release of singles False Prophets and Everybody dies caused a lot of conversation of what we can expect for the album. However, I think it is clear to say no one expected what we got. Cole through me for a loop when I saw the singles weren't even on the track list, evoking mystery in what the projects central theme and motifs would actually be.
In the documentary he released a couple days before the album dropped, Eyez, we really got to see how artistic Cole actually is. The very raw footage that Eyez captured included live instruments, vocal artists, and just classic vibing and creation in the studio. The conversations and dedication shown in the short film displayed Cole's humbleness as well as his musical attributes. We even got a peak of some songs that seemed to be apart of the album. In reality, none of the music viewers heard in the documentary were on the album either.
That brings us here, to this mystery album. What is 4 Your Eyez Only about? There is a complex answer. As the first track From Whom The Bell Tolls plays, I notice it has a dark tone. Asking questions like "What do you do where there is no where to turn?" and "Do I wanna die" in which he answers "I don't know." He seems to be doubtful and curious at the same time.
The next track Immortal has a completely different vibe. Cole chants "real niggas don't die." His confident delivery is totally opposite from the previous track. He talks about living the street life moving weight, seeing friends go to jail, fiends act out, and knowing deep down what he is doing is wrong but ultimately being motivated by money. At this point its obvious this is from another perspective than Cole being that he was never affiliated with that life. In the outro of the song Jermaine dabbles in the topic of modern "slavery" by saying society portrays black men to only be successful by selling dope, raping, or playing ball.
In the next song, Deja' Vu, he talks about meeting the girl of his dreams for the first time. This seems to be the Cole most know so we can assume he is talking from his perspective, The song that follows Ville Mentality, Cole has a more somber tone. He asks " How long can I survive with this mentality?" To access what mentality he is referring to we can look at the first verse where he talks about how no one genuinely cares about him and he wishes to run away from it all. On the other hand, in the second verse he comes with a more aggressive tone saying no one can ever throw dirt on his name, or play him. From the two opposites we can guess that the mentality he is referring to is to mask emotions and defend ones name. The second verse is an example of him living this mentality.
On the following track, She's Mine Pt. 1, Cole expresses of softer side of him. In this ballad-ish song he is talking to his lover, his wife. He expresses his love for her saying things like "I just wanna be right by your side," and "I wanna talk about my days as a youth to you." He is vulnerable with her which is apparent when he says "exposing you to all my demons and the reason I'm this way." In reflection of him at first being afraid to expose this side of him, he is assured by her as he says "it turns out you knew me better than I knew myself." Cole has fallen in love for the first time.
Change has a more upbeat and uplifting feel to it. He chants, "my intuition is telling me there'll be better days." Throughout the song he speaks on how throughout the struggles he has faced, he is still blessed and is bound to have great things to soon come to him. The hook, "I know you desperate for a change let the pen glide, but the only real change come from inside," signifies the importance of not looking around for a change in something one can't control but rather changing your mentality and habits to make life more efficient. In contrast to the initial uplifting vibe the song first gives off, the song ends on a sadder note. At the end of the 4th verse a major element of this album is revealed. That is James, a friend of Cole's that was murdered at 22. The outro of the song is Cole speaking at what seems to be James funeral. You can hear crying as well as angry outburst like "I swear to God, imma kill them niggas man." This all was a representations of the many reactions death can bring. It also shows an example of how the cycle of violence continues in the black community.
The next track Neighbors has a more gritty feel to it. This track addresses racism and a corrupt justice system. The hook is "I guess the neighbors think I'm selling dope.....Well motherf*cker I am." The song was inspired by a real life event when his recording studio/home in South Carolina was raided by a SWAT team due to people in the neighborhood being "suspicious" when seeing many African-American men in and out the home frequently. The hook "I guess the neighbors think I'm selling dope," was a short retelling of this story. Cole, however flips it using a play on words when saying "motherf*cker I am." The "dope" he sells is his music which he uses a parallel to dope due to his fans fiending for his music.
We get another upbeat song with Folding Clothes. He, again, is talking to his significant lover. He says "I wanna fold clothes for ya, I wanna make you feel good." This song is basically describing how Cole does simple things that takes away stress from his lover. He wants to do anything to make her happy.
In She's mine Pt. 2 Cole professes his love again, except this time for his daughter??? Yes, classic low key Cole letting fans know as little of his personal life as possible (which I admire so much). However, in this track he tells how his daughter being born has changed his perspective on life. He is highly grateful and even asks is he worthy of this gift?
The final track concludes the album beautifully, revealing information that might make the album more understandable. In the concluding track, 4 Your Eyez Only, the first first is told in a perspective that is not Cole's. It is being told from a perspective that is James'. From James' perspective he is battling tough things while trying to provide for his family. His background is filled with felonies and mistakes and he is just trying to get it the best way he can now. This is challenging due to his past mistakes. As the verse ends he tells Cole that if he breaks under pressure to play this song for his daughter to let her know he did everything he could to give her a better life.
In the second verse things get more intense as we hear James' perspective again, this time speaking directly to his daughter. We see a time jump occur as he says "you probably grown now, so you know this song'll hit you." We also now know that James is dead so his spirit is talking. He is telling his daughter that he is more than the criminal that life painted him to be, he had dreams and aspirations. Due to his environment and crucial situations he chose a different path. He also voices how he wishes he could be the father he never had to his daughter.
In the third verse, time goes back to the days presumably right before James' murder. James reflects that he could of left the world in many ways from corrupt cops, to street violence. He realizes that he had the wrong mentalities and morals which led him to the street life. He tells his daughter that he hopes she one day finds a man that has goals and a better mentality than he had. He then goes on to say that his worst fear is his then 3 year old daughter coming home to find out that her daddy is dead. He expresses how he feels his life is coming to an end soon and if she is listening to this it must be true. However, maybe its not true and this song will be tucked away and taught as a lesson he can tell in person. We as listeners know that unfortunately that wasn't the case.
On the fourth and final verse, Cole speaks from his perspective. He tells Jame's daughter that one day he had gotten and strange call from her dad. In that call he told Cole that he had a feeling his time in life was running out, so before he left he asked Cole to tell his story as a Father and to play it for his daughter. So Cole does that and is giving it to her now. His closing remarks to James' daughter is to take this record and learn from it and lastly know that her dad loved her.
All in all this album was very cohesive. It served it's purpose which was to tell Jame's daughter his story. It also told part of Cole's story too. James and J. Cole lived very opposite lives but shared similar things such as racial factors, having a family, and living through hard times. The parallels of their lives played out perfectly to create this album. Cole has yet again created another masterpiece.
In the documentary he released a couple days before the album dropped, Eyez, we really got to see how artistic Cole actually is. The very raw footage that Eyez captured included live instruments, vocal artists, and just classic vibing and creation in the studio. The conversations and dedication shown in the short film displayed Cole's humbleness as well as his musical attributes. We even got a peak of some songs that seemed to be apart of the album. In reality, none of the music viewers heard in the documentary were on the album either.
That brings us here, to this mystery album. What is 4 Your Eyez Only about? There is a complex answer. As the first track From Whom The Bell Tolls plays, I notice it has a dark tone. Asking questions like "What do you do where there is no where to turn?" and "Do I wanna die" in which he answers "I don't know." He seems to be doubtful and curious at the same time.
The next track Immortal has a completely different vibe. Cole chants "real niggas don't die." His confident delivery is totally opposite from the previous track. He talks about living the street life moving weight, seeing friends go to jail, fiends act out, and knowing deep down what he is doing is wrong but ultimately being motivated by money. At this point its obvious this is from another perspective than Cole being that he was never affiliated with that life. In the outro of the song Jermaine dabbles in the topic of modern "slavery" by saying society portrays black men to only be successful by selling dope, raping, or playing ball.
In the next song, Deja' Vu, he talks about meeting the girl of his dreams for the first time. This seems to be the Cole most know so we can assume he is talking from his perspective, The song that follows Ville Mentality, Cole has a more somber tone. He asks " How long can I survive with this mentality?" To access what mentality he is referring to we can look at the first verse where he talks about how no one genuinely cares about him and he wishes to run away from it all. On the other hand, in the second verse he comes with a more aggressive tone saying no one can ever throw dirt on his name, or play him. From the two opposites we can guess that the mentality he is referring to is to mask emotions and defend ones name. The second verse is an example of him living this mentality.
On the following track, She's Mine Pt. 1, Cole expresses of softer side of him. In this ballad-ish song he is talking to his lover, his wife. He expresses his love for her saying things like "I just wanna be right by your side," and "I wanna talk about my days as a youth to you." He is vulnerable with her which is apparent when he says "exposing you to all my demons and the reason I'm this way." In reflection of him at first being afraid to expose this side of him, he is assured by her as he says "it turns out you knew me better than I knew myself." Cole has fallen in love for the first time.
Change has a more upbeat and uplifting feel to it. He chants, "my intuition is telling me there'll be better days." Throughout the song he speaks on how throughout the struggles he has faced, he is still blessed and is bound to have great things to soon come to him. The hook, "I know you desperate for a change let the pen glide, but the only real change come from inside," signifies the importance of not looking around for a change in something one can't control but rather changing your mentality and habits to make life more efficient. In contrast to the initial uplifting vibe the song first gives off, the song ends on a sadder note. At the end of the 4th verse a major element of this album is revealed. That is James, a friend of Cole's that was murdered at 22. The outro of the song is Cole speaking at what seems to be James funeral. You can hear crying as well as angry outburst like "I swear to God, imma kill them niggas man." This all was a representations of the many reactions death can bring. It also shows an example of how the cycle of violence continues in the black community.
The next track Neighbors has a more gritty feel to it. This track addresses racism and a corrupt justice system. The hook is "I guess the neighbors think I'm selling dope.....Well motherf*cker I am." The song was inspired by a real life event when his recording studio/home in South Carolina was raided by a SWAT team due to people in the neighborhood being "suspicious" when seeing many African-American men in and out the home frequently. The hook "I guess the neighbors think I'm selling dope," was a short retelling of this story. Cole, however flips it using a play on words when saying "motherf*cker I am." The "dope" he sells is his music which he uses a parallel to dope due to his fans fiending for his music.
We get another upbeat song with Folding Clothes. He, again, is talking to his significant lover. He says "I wanna fold clothes for ya, I wanna make you feel good." This song is basically describing how Cole does simple things that takes away stress from his lover. He wants to do anything to make her happy.
In She's mine Pt. 2 Cole professes his love again, except this time for his daughter??? Yes, classic low key Cole letting fans know as little of his personal life as possible (which I admire so much). However, in this track he tells how his daughter being born has changed his perspective on life. He is highly grateful and even asks is he worthy of this gift?
The final track concludes the album beautifully, revealing information that might make the album more understandable. In the concluding track, 4 Your Eyez Only, the first first is told in a perspective that is not Cole's. It is being told from a perspective that is James'. From James' perspective he is battling tough things while trying to provide for his family. His background is filled with felonies and mistakes and he is just trying to get it the best way he can now. This is challenging due to his past mistakes. As the verse ends he tells Cole that if he breaks under pressure to play this song for his daughter to let her know he did everything he could to give her a better life.
In the second verse things get more intense as we hear James' perspective again, this time speaking directly to his daughter. We see a time jump occur as he says "you probably grown now, so you know this song'll hit you." We also now know that James is dead so his spirit is talking. He is telling his daughter that he is more than the criminal that life painted him to be, he had dreams and aspirations. Due to his environment and crucial situations he chose a different path. He also voices how he wishes he could be the father he never had to his daughter.
In the third verse, time goes back to the days presumably right before James' murder. James reflects that he could of left the world in many ways from corrupt cops, to street violence. He realizes that he had the wrong mentalities and morals which led him to the street life. He tells his daughter that he hopes she one day finds a man that has goals and a better mentality than he had. He then goes on to say that his worst fear is his then 3 year old daughter coming home to find out that her daddy is dead. He expresses how he feels his life is coming to an end soon and if she is listening to this it must be true. However, maybe its not true and this song will be tucked away and taught as a lesson he can tell in person. We as listeners know that unfortunately that wasn't the case.
On the fourth and final verse, Cole speaks from his perspective. He tells Jame's daughter that one day he had gotten and strange call from her dad. In that call he told Cole that he had a feeling his time in life was running out, so before he left he asked Cole to tell his story as a Father and to play it for his daughter. So Cole does that and is giving it to her now. His closing remarks to James' daughter is to take this record and learn from it and lastly know that her dad loved her.
All in all this album was very cohesive. It served it's purpose which was to tell Jame's daughter his story. It also told part of Cole's story too. James and J. Cole lived very opposite lives but shared similar things such as racial factors, having a family, and living through hard times. The parallels of their lives played out perfectly to create this album. Cole has yet again created another masterpiece.
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