He’s evolved since then, and that’s great, but why does his path to enlightenment have to be the only one? It’s jarring for an album spawned by structural racism to fall back on lines like, “The only real change come from inside” (“Change”). This is the same guy who made distinctions between “sisters” and “hoes” (“No Role Modelz”) and began his sophomore album with a declaration of his right to say faggot (“Villuminati”). When Cole reduces violent conflict and upward mobility to matters of vague principles, he’s shrinking into himself rather than connecting to others. Scoffing at nice rides and referring to retaliatory violence as ignorance and poison may seem like well-earned wisdom, but it’s really a failure of empathy. Always remember the first time I heard it and completed that last bar before I even heard it with the 'your daddy love YOU'. And it can be that way because Cole’s got four albums and multiple world tours under his belt. 4 your eyes only is one of my all time favorite j cole songs. 2,” which radiate love and are some of Cole’s most endearing odes to romantic love, partnership, and parenthood. I loved the sad theme Production in the album, I even loved all the songs on the album. I loved the sad theme Production in the album, OH MY GOD, what an fantastic album, I loved 4 Your Eyez Only. These values shine on songs like “Foldin Clothes” and “She’s Mine Pt. Cole’s ‘4 Your Eyez Only’ Is Both Empathetic and Condescending By Stephen Kearse Stephen Kearse ( blacksteve ) is a freelance writer who has contributed to Slate, Consequence of Sound. OH MY GOD, what an fantastic album, I loved 4 Your Eyez Only. Cole’s world is a land of humility, domestic work, family, and good, educated decisions.

Lines like these don’t sink the ship, but they do mark the margins of Cole’s everyman trappings. “Neighbors” is ostensibly about Cole’s inability to escape racism no matter where he lives, but between the restless nights and unsolicited cop visits, Cole squeezes in an odd humblebrag: “In the driveway there’s no rapper cars/Just some shit to get from back and forth.” Elsewhere, on “Change,” a song that’s allegedly about evolving, he conservatively raps, “Bloodshed done turned to the city to a battlefield/I call it poison, you call it real.” Likewise, “Change” also features this chin-grabber: “I believe if God is real he'd never judge a man/Because he knows us all and therefore he would understand/The ignorance that make a nigga take his brother life.” Cole’s good intentions aside, this a way of talking about crime among blacks that's more interested in blaming than understanding. Despite leaving off “False Prophets” and “Everybody Dies,” buzz-building tracks that embody the “king-of-rap” ethos that Cole disavowed on “Fire Squad,” a pestering condescension lurks. The album only falters when Cole’s empathy reveals its limits.

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