Apr 24, 2018 https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/j-cole-kod/ Listening to a J. Cole album can feel like listening to a very intense young lawyer attempt to win a difficult case. Throughout his career, Cole’s raps have often been self-serious and polemical, with their success depending on the overall strength of his argumentation above all else. And while many of his individual claims can be convincing, you often get to the end of a song and think something like: Wait, did he really just argue that corporations take taxes and use them to buy and spread guns? Few artists stake so much on their ability to persuade an audience of their worldview, particularly when that worldview is so absolutist. You do not listen to J. Cole to enjoy his wit or his stories, but to partake in his wisdom, which often involves an element of moral panic: On his new addiction-themed album, KOD, he loves to suggest that people should abstain from things—smoking, drinking, online dating. Sometimes, he’s persuasive, but just as often, he simply seems self-righteous. Thoughts?
Apr 24, 2018 I feel like it deserves a 7.8-ish, so I'm surprised it's so low, but I'm glad to see it get taken down a notch after HipHopDX jerked it off so hard
Apr 24, 2018 I just checked out FNL for the first time, just out of curiosity and I was shocked at how good it was compared to his more recent s---. Is the Warm Up also worth checking out?
Apr 24, 2018 The streets don't f--- with you, you Pitchfork rappers Chosen by the white man, you hipstor rappers
Apr 24, 2018 Most certainly man, a lot of people say the warm up is even better it's got classic s---. Check out I Get Up (my all time favorite Cole song) and his Dead Presidents II
Apr 24, 2018 This probably the only Cole bar I have ever liked but it’s true. Kids decked out in Supreme and Commes Des Garçons talking about guns and 69 and Suicideboys really have no idea at all lol
Apr 24, 2018 Nothing new to see here, they give him his usual 6/10 score every time. Think FNL was the only thing they ever rated higher than a 6.