 |
| Jermaine Cole (2018) |
One artist that has had a huge impact on my life is Jermaine Cole. J. Cole is one of todays biggest artists. He is a lot like Jay Z. Both started with nothing and have grown into two of the biggest hip-hop producers on the planet. He was originally recognized for his debut mixtape, They Come Up. He released two more mixtapes on his own before signing to Jay Z's record label, Roc Nation. Here he produced his first debut studio album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. It reached #1 on the US Billboard 200, and went platinum. Since then, he has released 4 more studio albums, two of which were at Roc Nation and the other two were written and produced under his own record label, Dreamville. All 5 of his studio produced albums have been #1 on the US billboard 200 and every album has been certified platinum.
One album that stood out among all of his recording is 2014 Forrest Hills Drive. The album shows us what it was like for Jermaine in his earlier years, focusing on what it's like to grow up in this country as an African American male. It helps give me, a young white male perspective on a society that I take for granted. The album that J. Cole produced, is (in my opinion), one of the single greatest albums ever made. I think he was able to create a beautiful masterpiece that; had no features, went DOUBLE platinum, and sold 350,000 in the first week. It includes songs like G.O.M.D., No Role Models, A Tale of Two Cities, and more.
There are two main reasons I find this to be J. Cole's most influential work. One, the music is simply beautiful. In today's music world, it is very hard to find beautiful music. With all sorts of artists just shouting noises and screaming things, Cole takes you back to a better time where music was simple and it made you feel good. The second reason this album is his most influential album is the lyrics. He has this amazing flow, making the song go exactly where it should go, feeling natural and good. In this specific album, he is able to really explain to us what it was like to grow up in a financially unstable home where your never sure about anything. The album just gave me a much more clear perspective on those who are not as fortunate as us. (411 words)
Duncan, first of all, great job on your post. I really enjoyed getting a look into some of J. Cole's background and I think your comparison to Jay Z was spot on. I was also interested to find out that Cole's album 2014 Forest Hills Drive did not have any features. In today's world, an album can't be popular without another artist's input on a song. For example, if you get Drake to feature on your song, it is most likely going to be a hit. Good job!
ReplyDeleteDuncan I liked your evaluation of J. Cole's album in the second paragraph. I also think it's good that the album gave you perspective and helped you appreciate what you have.
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job providing a lot of detail about j.cole and he clearly impacted your life. I like how you talk about the lyrics as i think those are extremely important to good music, songs that just talk about nothing just to get people to listen arent as good as songs with meaning.
ReplyDeleteJ cole is also one of my favorite artists. I especially enjoy the deeper meaning in his new album KOD. I also agree with you that forest hills drive is a very inspirational album and it was what got him very big.
ReplyDelete