Happy Birthday Jermaine!
J.Cole has been easily one of the best and most consistent rappers since his name first appeared on the Internet.
On December 9th 2014, Cole dropped what would become his best major label effort and best selling album. Since the release, Cole has been on a mission to spread the vision. 2014 Forest Hills Drive was a journey from beginning to end following the life of a young Jermaine growing up in Fayetteville, moving to the Big Apple and becoming an entertainer. In order for fans to get the full experience of the album, Cole and his Dreamville team set out to create a unique production for his live shows. In combination with HBO, Cole presented a Web series titled Road to Homecoming following the tour leading up to his last show in Fayetteville, North Carolina (his hometown). His concert-film (Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming) received critical acclaim and as a follow up J.Cole just released Forest Hills Drive: Live. Though some may find this to be a cash grab from the label, I’d respectfully disagree.
J.Cole has never been about the money. Just listen to his music. The honesty in his songs is a nod to that. Forest Hills Drive: Live is one of the most important albums of our time and that’s because it displays how much time and energy is invested in the production of his music and live shows. From the live instrumentation blending his tracklist seamlessly, to the turntablist scratching samples into his set and the incredible crowd commandment, Forest Hills Drive: Live shows us that in a genre that has become more pop, some artists can really be true to the art.
If you haven’t had a chance to catch the HBO special, make time for it and do yourself a favour and get the album here or stream it below.
