4 Your Eyez Only
*4 Your Eyez Only* plunges deep into J. Cole’s soul. You can clearly hear it in his voice—pleading, testifying, on the verge of cracking. At center stage with no featured guests, the North Carolina rapper speaks out on social ills, black lives, and doing the right thing in a world of wrong. The music is settled, filled with jazz touches and strings, allowing the words to become the focus. “Neighbors” and “Change” examine imbalances and tension affecting communities of color. “Foldin Clothes” shows that even benign acts can be a source of joy. The two-part suite “She’s Mine” may be the most important songs he’s written, as Cole finds himself overcome by a strange feeling: hope.
On J. Cole’s fourth album, he wrestles with the fragility of life and the importance of family ties. He also sands down some of his worst impulses.
God, 4 Your Eyez Only is good. It's like a chef serving up something simple, a plateful of tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella, perha...
At 10 tracks and 44 minutes, this largely featureless album is compact, disciplined, and low on flash.
The rapper and activist takes aim at mass incarceration, police brutality and toxic masculinity on his much anticipated follow up to Forest Hill Drives
4 Your Eyez Only isn't the grand departure some have been begging from Cole.