- Collaboration with other music labels
According to Wikipedia, it states that, 2014 Forest Hills Drive is the third studio album by American rapper, J Cole. It was released on December 9 2014 by ByStorm Entertainment,Columbia Records,Dreamville Records and Roc Nation.
From my point of view, Roc Nation is owned by Jay Z who is considered to be the best rappers of all time as stated by Wikipedia. The fact that he is regarded as one of the world's most significant cultural icons means that he is mainly responsible for the album to be a huge success. Moreover he was J.Cole's mentor and he signed J.Cole to his record label hence without Jay Z,J.Cole would not be considered as the 16th most famous musician in the world as stated by FameFlux.com of which J.Cole surpassed Nicki Minaj and Travis Scott on the @fameflux-fame rankings.
The fact that Dreamville was founded by J.Cole and his Sudanese-American manager Ibrahim Hamad means that J.Cole also contributed more on his album 2014 Forest Hills Drive to become a success.
- Receiving different types of awards
As stated by Wikipedia ,2014 Forest Hills Drive received generally positive reviews from critics who admired its ambitious concept,production and lyrics. The album debuted at:
1. number one on the US Billboard 200,selling 353,000 copies in its first week
2. nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards
3. won Album of the Year at the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards
4. Top Rap Album at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards
5. The single, Apparently was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards.
6. As of September 2015,the album has sold one million copies in the United States
7. The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on May 30, 2019.
As stated above,this proves why J.Cole is one of the best rappers of all time,singer,songwriter and record producer.
- Relevance of the title
According to Wikipedia,the album's title is the address of a home in Foyetteville ,North Carolina where Cole lived from his early youth ,until 2003.Cole lived at the property with his mother,his brother and his stepfather, and was the location where Cole wrote some of his earliest songs and decided to pursue a career as a musician.The property was soon foreclosed on after Cole departed Fayetteville to attend St John's University in New York City.
From my point of view,the album is based on J.Cole's personal experience because the album's title is where Cole lived from his early youth until 2003.Moreover this is where he wrote his earliest songs hence this influenced him to become a rapper. This means that the album really means a lot to J.Cole because it reminds him of his past and how he has never given up to become a successful rapper.
As stated by Wikipedia,in 2014 Cole bought the house and was the first home he had purchased.The album's title is used to recount Cole's upbringing and the transition from leaving North Carolina to New York,it battles with the transitions that were taken in order to find his success and fame within the music industry. Cole soon put the home up for an "extremely cheap" renting price in the hope that any struggling residents could use it to progress their lives without having to worry about frequent moving,an experience Cole underwent due to frequent financial struggles.
As stated above,we can see that J.Cole was struggling with money hence despite the struggle he still rose to success. It motivates us that no matter what life throws at you whether good or bad,we should not give up on our dreams.Moreover the fact that Cole put the home up for an "extremely cheap" renting price for struggling residents means that he cares about other people's lives and wants to help them hence one of the reasons why I believe the song Love Yourz was written.
- Importance of the lyrics available in the album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
The track list of the album is:
1. Intro
2. January 28th
3. Wet Dreamz
4. 03' Adolescence
5. A Tale of 2 Citiez
6. Fire squad
7. St. Tropez
8. G.O.M.D
9. No Role Modelz
10. Hello
11. Apparently
12. Love Yourz
13. Note to Self
According to the interview by Andres Tardio posted March 17,2015, "What inspired 'Love Yourz?J.Cole Breaks Down The Track For Tavis Smiley" it states that Love Yourz was certainly hailed as one of the standout cutts off J.Cole's late 2014 album 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The song means a lot to Cole because he says it symbolizes the message he tried to convey on the album:happiness. "When I was young ,I thought success was all I needed.That's what was going to bring happiness ",Cole told Tavis Smiley recently. "When those things came the happiness wasn't there.I realized why that was.There was such an attempt to achieve these things,to keep going,that you lose sight of the people and the blessings you have around you ".
From my point of view,I believe that the title Love Yourz means love yourself because we often compare our lives to other people or we feel like we are not good enough yet we do not know their full story.I can relate to this because I thought I was not good enough. This song obviously has a great impact on my life and other people's lives because it teaches us to embrace who we are and love ourselves. Moreover where it says,"...being broke was better" means that one could have all the money in the world but that will not bring happiness. This probably means that whatever decision you make do it because you are happy not because of the money.
The title of the song,January 28th is making reference to J.Cole's birthday since he was born on January 28,1985.From the lyrics where it says:
"I wanna make a million dollars of a rap tune
I'm gonna make a million dollars off a rap tune".
It acts like a motivational song to himself that he will not give up until he makes a million off a rap tune.The song also celebrates his birthday.
The title of the song,Apparently seems to be making reference to J.Cole's Christianity where it says:
[Chorus]
"I keep my head high
I got my wings to carry me
I don't know freedom
I want my dreams to rescue me
I keep my faith strong
I ask the Lord to follow me
I've been unfaithful
I don't know why you call on me"
From the lyrics above,it shows that J.Cole believes in God.Moreover on verse 1 he talks about his past life at Forest hills and how he regrets leaving his mother alone.
"...Think back to Forest Hills,no perfect home
But the only thing like home I've ever known
Until they snatched it from my mama
And foreclosed her on the loan.
I'm so sorry that I left you to deal with them alone..."
The use of the word,"only" clearly means that it was the only place he could call home because of his mother who lived at Forest hills. Moreover the use of the word,"sorry" clearly shows that he feels really bad for leaving his mother at Forest hills hence they had a very close relationship. This shows that family means everything to J.Cole.
In conclusion,collaboration with other music labels,receiving different types of awards,relevance of the title and importance of the lyrics are the reasons why 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J.Cole is one of the best album's of all time.
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