J.Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story Review
There comes a time, when a tingling sensation from your spine trickles down to your fingers when you first hear new music. The music scene has been melancholy, as many artists unfortunately have reached their peak or acme of their careers. While newcomers swam the depths of musical ambiance in hopes of capturing a classic, many have sunk, because they opted to appeal to the radio and remain docile in their approach to record labels. J.Cole has patiently waited for his number to be called. He watched his competitors and industry peers get rid of their warm up jerseys, and traded in the practice gear for their official uniforms. Mainstream success has already called upon rappers such as Drake, B.o.B, Big Sean, Wiz and many more, while Cole had no choice but to sit and watch. But Cole never appeared mad or even apprehensive at his situation. He waited patiently on the sideline for his number to be called. Guess what, patience is a virtue, and Young Simba has finally stepped into the game, and though his first game appearance may not mirror along the likes of his idols Nasir, and Hovito, he proved that watching from the sidelines for so long may have been beneficial for his situation after all.
The intro finds Cole recollecting candidly when he first inked his contract with Hov, and Roc Nation with his boys. Cole - known for his candor - exposed his heart, and the pits of his fiery mind, as tracks like "Dollar and a Dream III", "Sideline Story", finds him explicitly revealing his long lasting grind to finally achieve his overdue dream. As Cole embarks on his journey to the pinnacles of Hip-Hop's upper echelon, he encountered numerous push backs and constant badgering from bloggers in reference to his relationship with Jay. He rebuts those assumptions on "Sideline Story" saying “Somebody told me how come Jay never shout me out? Like I’m supposed to give a fuck.” Cole also receives his chance of linking up with his idol/boss, Jay-Z, as the prodigy tackles the dub-step style “Mr. Nice Watch” with Jay-z finishing the track smoothly a la George Gervin.
Cole also displays his brilliant story telling abilities on tracks like "Lost Ones" where he vividly portrays the point of views of two young adults facing the risks of going through a pregnancy, and possibly abortion. The marveling thing about Cole is his fearlessness of touching the inner demons of society and the ills of reality rather than shy away from it. "Nobody's Perfect" features the resurgence of Missy Elliot as she sings on the hook about people's imperfections, but being ok with the simple fact that nobody is indeed perfect. In "Rise & Shine", the beginning includes of a vintage sound bite from Jay-Z, talking about the possibilities of a newcomer coming to take his coveted spot and dethrone him. Then, a voracious Cole ravenously attacks the beat with the mind state of capitalizing off Hov’s earlier sentiments. With a quotable like "In the game full of liars, it turns out I'm the truth,” it shows Cole doesn’t plan to let gimmicks overtake his career, but rather, let his realism carry him into prominence.
The let downs – which appears to be subtle – came towards the end as tracks like Rise & Shine, and God’s Gift mirrors each other production wise, and even content wise, as Cole’s plea to prove himself becomes somewhat repetitive. Maybe Cole could have cut the album short as these songs appear to be fillers, as his hopes of stretching his album into a 15 track opus lands just short. Cole heard the murmurs from critics in regards to his hit making abilities, but it seemed Cole brushed the criticism aside, and allowed himself to do what people appreciate him most for – his brute lyricism, and storytelling tales. For those who were searching for a top-ten radio track to spin endlessly until their ears blew off, will not appreciate Cole’s efforts. But for those, who have been riding with Cole from his days of The Come Up will appreciate his first project. Regardless, for a debut, he should be very proud as he proves the skeptics wrong on the notion of his production game –which was first dubbed as lackadaisical – proves to be more than sufficient in this album. Overall, for his crack at the league, he demonstrates, he definitely has all-star potential and is no a longer sideline player, but a player to watch out for, especially for years to come.
Final Review: 4/5
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