Cole World: The Sideline Story
- J. Cole
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Nov 4, 201183He's worth the shot Jay couldn't resist giving him. But he's still not comfortable enough or clever enough.
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Sep 22, 201183Cole World: The Sideline Story is a well-rounded effort, and deeper than most.
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Sep 29, 201180At times, the mid-tempo brooding gets a bit monotonous, but Cole is an engaging enough character to make this a solid debut.
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Sep 27, 201180A very strong debut album from J. Cole.
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Sep 27, 201180The story goes that Jay-Z told Cole he had his whole life to make his debut album. Cole may have taken that literally, but it was worth it.
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Sep 26, 201180Take a couple listens, let it sink in, and then discover that Cole World is one hell of a debut.
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Oct 10, 201175We got an album entirely thrown on the shoulders of the cub, and like a growing king, J. Cole actually pulled it off, but scope, cohesiveness, and focus couldn't help but become somewhat lost in the disarray.
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Oct 5, 201175Like his rhyming, his production is sophisticated, earnest, and maybe could benefit from a dose of rawness.
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Nov 4, 201170Cole World reveals its maker to be a technically superb rapper with great production skills, albeit currently exploring rags-to-riches tales lacking in consistent vigour.
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Oct 19, 201170Despite the flaws, Cole shapes up his debut to be a well-rounded effort.
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Oct 13, 201170Cole's flow is constantly on point and the production is frequently quite beautiful, making Cole World not quite the genre-defining release fans were anticipating but certainly a perfect transition for hip-hop from a scorching summer of bangers to the more introspective autumn.
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Sep 27, 201170Cole World does end up as a good debut.
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Sep 27, 201170It's a few outstanding moments short of the masterpiece many fans were expecting, but it clarifies that Cole has officially arrived as a major player in rap--at last.
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Sep 27, 201170If he evens out the ratio of from-the-heart shit to smart shit, Cole could be great.
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Sep 26, 201170J. Cole's debut album has flaws just as others' rookie seasons did, but Cole World: Sideline Story definitely proves that he deserves a prominent spot on the team.
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Sep 22, 201170Cole World is full of evidence that when Cole sits down to write a hit, he mysteriously loses that intangible quality that first earned him these weighty expectations.
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Oct 4, 201167The album is a true extension of Cole's mix-tapes, the product of an adroit lyricist still unsure how to fully capitalize on his talents.
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Sep 26, 201163The result of all that experience is the satisfying confidence with which J. Cole delivers his rhymes, in many cases over slickly inventive beats he crafted himself....But J. Cole's early-onset veteran status also saps some of the energy you'd hope to hear on a debut as feverishly anticipated as this one.
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Sep 30, 201161It doesn't help that Cole brings the least-flavorful bars of his career to his debut, aiming, most likely, for something more universal than his diaristic mixtapes. The few glints we get of his personal life are intriguing.
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Sep 26, 201160Amply stocked with warmth and charisma, the only thing Cole World really wants for is the kind of out-of-the-park highlight that would pull the whole album together; as is, it shows off the scattered but considerable strengths of a talented rookie whose potential for long-term success is palpable.