After much anticipation, J Cole has finally released his debut album “Cole World: The Sideline Story.” J Cole has been around for several years, releasing mix tapes over the internet and building up his fan base. His debut album kept getting pushed back but it is finally here and some of his fans could not be happier.
Others are not as excited about the album. Jon Caramanica, a critic for the New York Times, believes that J Cole’s album is not as good as it could have been. Mr. Caramanica believes that J Cole’s early work from his mix tapes was better because he was not trying to fit into mainstream hip-hop while his debut album is compromised because of the limitations of mainstream hip hop. Caramanica believes that J Cole is at his best when rapping about personal experiences, such as love and family, but a lot of the album is dedicated to songs about being rich and other things that mainstream rappers rap about. J Cole performed at the Roseland Ballroom and Caramanica notes that the performance was awkward. Cole was at his best when performing songs like “In the Morning” or “Lost Ones” but was listless when performing songs such as “Mr. Nice Watch” and “Who Dat.”
I believe that Mr. Caramanica has a valid point. J Cole’s meaningful songs are much better than his mainstream songs. Many rappers have the same problem. While Mr. Caramanica is not thrilled by Cole’s debut album, I know many people that are. I personally cannot wait to buy J Cole’s album. I have listened to several songs on the album and I have enjoyed them all, wether they were mainstream or not.
I totally agree, a lot of people say that J. Cole’s mixtapes are better than his current work. Sadly, I haven’t heard too many of his mixtapes to create a solid opinion, but his work right now is pretty good; one of the best currently if in my opinion. I’ve noticed the distinction between personal experience and getting rich in his works, and I like the ones with his personal experiences better. A lot of people want him to talk about real issues, especially critics of Mr. Nice Watch. I personally like a lot of his tracks and can’t wait to see how far he progresses in his career.
I agree with Jon Caramanica. I noticed that J. Cole has recently become quite popular but I have heard some of his songs back in the day. I do feel that his songs seemingly transformed into the more mainstream form of music compared to his individual style that he had before. His songs now are still good, but his previous works were more unique.
Honestly, the first time I ever heard of J Cole was last week when so many people began posting pictures of themselves and the album on facebook. I thought it was weird but i guess this explains all the hype about him. Thanks