The rapper releases his most cryptic album yet.
“Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.”
John Donne’s quote about the interconnectedness of humanity -- in life and death -- is omnipresent on J. Cole ’s new album 4 Your Eyez Only . "For Whom The Bell Tolls" opens the rapper’s most melancholy and introspective effort to date. Sonically minimalistic, he forgoes catchy hooks and big features for a stripped-down, lyrically-focused album that delves into entangled and complex emotions about life, death and legacy.
4 Your Eyez Only is a personal conversation, first and foremost, with Cole himself. "I see the rain powering down, before my very eyes,” he moans against a jazz-tinged background on the title track. The rapper is self-reflective, digging into his headspace. “I’m searching and praying and hoping for something I know I’m gonna see it… Lord.” Despite critical and commercial acclaim, he grapples with his mortality and what he’ll leave behind. “To die a young legend or live a long life unfulfilled?” he wails on “Immortal.” “Cause they only feel you after you gone, or I've been told/And now I'm caught between bein' heard and gettin' old/Damn, death creepin' in my thoughts lately.”
Although he’s just 31 years old, Cole’s gauging what his existence means. Compared to his contemporaries, he’s markedly reclusive and his tenuous relationship with fame is no secret on wax or in the media. On "January 28th" (which coincides with his birthday) from 2014 Forest Hills Drive , the rapper takes this stance on music industry diplomacy: "Don't give 'em too much you. Don't let 'em take control. It's one thing you do. Don't let 'em taint your soul." Compared to his peers, he’s ostensibly succeeded in flying below the radar; he lives in his native North Carolina, sends nary a tweet -- even to promote his own releases -- and his personal life is shrouded even though he reportedly got married and had his first child in the past year.
