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UncutFeb 3, 2015You long for a bit more of the ardour of "Fine Squad." [Mar 2015, p.73]
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Jan 5, 2015He speaks some incisive truths about class, race ("Fire Squad") and relationships ("Wet Dreamz"), but those insights are too often undercut by crass humor. The production falls short, too, with dull beats to match his languid flow.
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Dec 18, 2014Consistent, yes, but not the king yet.
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Dec 17, 2014Quite possibly rushed so the house number could match the year, J. Cole's latest album is a damn good attempt, but it just isn't the real deal.
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Dec 16, 2014In the end it is a work crippled by its own indecision, and perhaps bowed by the weight of expectation: a shame, for sure, but hardly a reason to lose faith.
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Dec 15, 2014He’s a smart, self-assured lyricist--confident enough to end with a 14-minute thank-you track--but not as interesting in his contradictions as the likes of Drake or Kanye West.
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Dec 15, 2014All these flights of fancy fly freely since the album lacks an anchor. 2014 Forest Hills Drive comes off as a great, experimental, and advancing mixtape, but it's insider to a fault, as slight as that fault might be.
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Dec 15, 2014He’s undeniably an intelligent MC with a sense of social justice, which makes all the half-realized ideas, indulgence, and misogyny (clueless “No Role Modelz”) puzzling.
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Dec 12, 2014J. Cole is righfully satisfied with the end product, as will the fans.
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Dec 12, 2014On 2014 Forest Hills Drive , we’ve still got the same ol’ Cole, but with diminishing returns and without any friends to help him.
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Dec 11, 20142014 Forest Hills Drive is a decent album selling itself as great. It wraps itself in the garments of a classic, but you can see that the tailoring is off.
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Dec 9, 2014Forest Hills Drive has enough twists and turns to inspire an almost schizophrenic stream of reactions.
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Dec 9, 2014A deeply skilled empathizer, Cole can put you in his shoes too.
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Dec 9, 2014Cole's keen sense of injustice registers throughout 2014 Forest Hills Drive, whether slagging white artists for artistic thievery or seething over national media outlets pigeonholing black genius into sports/pop either/ors.... But the absence of "Be Free" still detracts. Unless you're the type of moviegoer who sits patiently through the end titles, feel free to duck out of "Note to Self" a bit early and head over to SoundCloud.
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Dec 9, 2014He shines without any features, standing strong in his delivery and carrying his story to the forefront of the 13-track project.
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Dec 9, 2014Its narrative, the tropes, and the strategies are completely overcome by the albums terrifying integrity. It is immensely relatable because it is not afraid to be corny and cliche.
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Dec 9, 2014He's been afforded a rare amount of artistic freedom on 2014 Forest Hills Drive and there aren't even any singles, so it's great that he's more or less delivered. But whilst this definitely misses out on classic territory, that doesn't mean it isn't a bloody good album for the most part.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 532 out of 613
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Mixed: 47 out of 613
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Negative: 34 out of 613
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Dec 16, 2014
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Dec 9, 2014
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Dec 12, 2014