unofficial import on black vinyl, includes three bonus tracks!
In the space of two mixtapes, J. Cole has toured the world, attracted Jay-Z as his mentor and been hailed as the messiah, saviour, redeemer and more. And while hip hop doesn’t need saving, it’s certainly true that this man is a remarkably anti-contemporary prospect in relation to his peers.
His two previous mixtapes – 2009’s The Warm Up and the following year’s Friday Night Lights – stood out for going against the grain of modern MCs twice over, with a plethora of unexpected patterns steadily becoming his signature. In spite of his casting as the familiar underdog, Cole’s reality is refreshingly gimmick-free; while Drake’s charm relies on his foot-in-mouth tendencies, this rapper’s multi-layered introspection offers more depth and focus across a longer time-span.
Production-wise, Cole aims to ape the mid-90s – and the golden era following Dr Dre’s The Chronic LP of 1992 is referenced throughout, Nobody’s Perfect being a particularly strong example. Be it the double drums or his Nas-like obsession with turning bad into good, these cuts display Cole at his best – brutally delivered rhymes, multi-layered instrumentation and heavy, heavy hooks.
| 1 | Intro |
| 2 | Dollar And A Dream III |
| 3 | Can't Get Enough |
| 4 | Lights Please |
| 5 | Interlude |
| 6 | Sideline Story |
| 7 | Mr. Nice Watch |
| 8 | Cole World |
| 9 | In The Morning |
| 10 | Lost Ones |
| 11 | Nobody's Perfect |
| 12 | Never Told |
| 13 | Rise And Shine |
| 14 | God's Gift |
| 15 | Breakdown |
| 16 | Work Out |
