ColeвЂ™s fourth studio album as another slow, and preachy project. Cole expresses his thoughts on mass incarceration and life in the projects before revealing to the daughter that her father was a special man because of his love for her if nothing else. The father tells Cole вЂњThe only thing IвЂ™m proud to say вЂI was a father,вЂ™ write my story down and if I pass, go play it for my daughter.вЂќ With his final bars, J. Marked by an extended drum and violin instrumental, Cole returns as himself in the final verse to explain the albumвЂ™s meaning in his own words. The father gives his daughter a glimpse into his own life and the circumstances that took him away, hoping desperately that she will find a better life outside of the cyclical pattern he knows he was caught in.

вЂњIf the pressure get to much for me to take and I break, play this tape for my daughter and let her know my life is on it,вЂќ Cole raps. In the first verse, the true character of the album, whom many believe to be the previously mentioned McMillan, reveals that the project is a way of connecting with his daughter after his death. The albumвЂ™s title track reveals the metaphorical nature of the entire album. вЂњDonвЂ™t want to die, вЂcause now youвЂ™re here,вЂќ he says, bringing the album full-circle from the opening track, leading into the crucial finale, 4 Your Eyez Only. The previously troubled artist has found his purpose. 2, Cole expresses new love once again, this time for a newborn girl. Cole takes a rather unprecedented approach for the genre in discussing the ways he hopes to aid his pregnant significant other. Cops bust in with the army guns, no evidence of the harm we done,вЂќ Cole raps. вЂњI canвЂ™t sleep cause IвЂ™m paranoid, black in a white man territory. With a back-and-forth flow and a bass-heavy beat, Neighbors, may be the closest to a mainstream rap track on the project, yet Cole never wavers from his conscientious approach. One of the densest tracks on the album lyrically and my personal favorite, Cole remains conscious of his splintered identity, but finds that вЂњthe only real change come from inside.вЂќ Listeners are also given the first direct reference to the death of J. With new-found love, Cole takes on a more positive perspective in the rhythmic Change. While IвЂ™m too scared to expose myself, it turns out, you know me better than I know myself,вЂќ he says. вЂњThe same wall thatвЂ™s stopping me from letting go and shedding tears, from the lack of having father, and the passing of my peers. On the melodic love song, the artist expresses his adoration for a woman and his need to open to her about his troubled past. In Ville Mentality, Cole reflects on these themes and seems to realize the need to mature past them. n-a, that green, IвЂ™m a black king, black jeans on my black queen,вЂќ Cole raps in one verse, before cautioning against such beliefs in the outro, вЂњThey tellinвЂ™ n-s вЂSell dope, rap or go to NBAвЂ™ (in that order), ItвЂ™s that sort of thinkinвЂ™ that been keepinвЂ™ n-as chained.вЂќ Deja Vu, a track I expect to explode in live performances, examines a struggle with conflicted romantic feelings. With Immortal, the focus shifts to false pride and confidence those surviving on the streets are expected to keep. On For Whom the Bells Toll, arguably one of ColeвЂ™s most somber tracks to date, he admits to fears of dying and worries he holds about the legacy he will leave.

Cole illustrates the shifting nature of the mind during formative years of youth, searching for purpose and reason.

The ten-track album linearly explores aspects of an individualвЂ™s life with each song. With this yearвЂ™s 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole takes an even greater step back from mainstream rap, and a leap forward as one of todayвЂ™s strongest lyricists. Cole showed the world he could craft an entirely individual album worthy of platinum certification on 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Cole for his ability to craft dense narrative stories in his work. Others have praised him for speaking out on issues other rappers wonвЂ™t touch, such as fears of death, love, and ultimately most aspects of life that do not revolve solely around fame, money, sex or drugs. Critics have called him corny, boring, and preachy. The Roc Nation rapper from Fayetteville, N.C., better known as J. Few rap artists are as polarizing as Jermaine Lamarr Cole.

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