After “2014 Forest Hills Drive”, the artist J. Cole has been recognized as one of the most successful and prominent artists in the music industry. Between his mixture of original beats and lyrics that create a story for the listener to follow, J. Cole’s “2014 Forest Hills Drive” was the first album in history to go double platinum with no features.

So, when J. Cole fans heard that he was releasing a new album, one can only imagine the hype created around the album. That is, until the album actually dropped. Many listeners were confused and disappointed with the songs created.

A lot of J. Cole fans fell in love with songs such as “G.O.M.D.”, “A Tale of 2 Citiez”, and “No Role Modelz”. These songs appealed to the hardcore rap followers and the normal pop listeners. His mixture of soft spoken and sung words with lyrics of true pain and his ability to rap made these songs instant classics.

“4 Your Eyez Only” was none of that. This album was strictly a sad story told through song. There was no true appeal to his hardcore rap followers which is a huge percentage of his fan base. This is still a beautiful and well-composed album, but it doesn’t live up to the hype.

The only albums that “4 Your Eyez only” can be compared to is possibly Childish Gambino’s new album, “Awaken, My Love!” which also failed to live up to the hype and fell very short of listeners’ expectations.

The other album that it could possibly be compared to is “Views” by Drake. This album was considered a complete failure at first. Yet, after a couple of months, the album resurfaced and was considered a great piece of art. The album really began to regain attention because songs such as “Child’s Play” and “Controlla” made it to public radio.

So, yes, the new J. Cole album is a good purchase, but you need to know what you’re buying before you buy it. This album in no way going to come anywhere close to “2014 Forest Hills Drive”, but maybe after a little time, this album may regain attention and become a well-played and listened to album.