T2T Review: J.COLE- Sideline Story /
After the first few tracks of J.Cole’s debut album, Cole World: Sideline Story, it’s easy to understand the record’s title. It’s clear that even though Cole is new to mainstream hip hop, his rhyming skills are just as polished as the most seasoned of rap veterans. He starts the record off preluding the details of his rise to fame with the record’s passionate intro. Dollar and A Dream is the second track on the album and it too details the struggles of an artist trying to become famous or equally, a man aspiring to be more. It’s songs like this one that showcase not only Cole’s lyrical excellence but his ability to convey raw emotion over a thumping hip hop beat—not many rappers can do that. The album takes an interesting turn with the addictive hook of Can’t Get Enough. If we look past the vivid sexual innuendos in the song Lights Please, we discover a pretty positive message about how sex has taken the place of serious relationships and stimulating conversation—interesting topic to rap about.
During the second half of the album, Cole picks up where he left off after the third track – ranting about his struggle to make a name for himself in the rap community. On Sideline Story, Cole’s cool, calm and collected flow turns angry as he tries to convince the listener that regardless of the obstacles, he would get us off of the sideline and “put us all on the map.” J.Cole finally makes it on the track Mr. Nice Watch—gone is the humble, aspiring young artist that we met on tracks one, two and three and in his place is a self-assured, borderline cocky rapper who hangs out with Jay-Z. One might consider J.Cole your average backpack rapper, but he quickly disproves that assertion with his Eminem style flow on the track Cole World—it is a definite high point on the record. As the album rounds out we are introduced to the track, In the Morning—it’s a nice track with a nice beat but unfortunately it adds nothing to the scope of the album. In Lost Ones, Cole poetically addresses the issue of abortion and to the delight of many women—he takes men to task for not taking care of their manly responsibilities. The last track on the album, Nobody’s Perfect, reveals what is quite evident throughout the entire record— if Cole could refine his lyrics enough to truly tell a story, he’d be better than just good. He’d be great.3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment