He delivered, ill admit. His best work since "2014 FHD". A few flaws sure, ill get to those later, but I had a smile on my face when listening to this. Production carried it for me, varied from what I would hear from the current crop to some southern texture stuff I've been wanted to hear from Cole for a good minute. "9 5 . south" a nice intro to set the tone of the album, Cam'Ron hyping up Cole and Lil Jon coming in at the end was a nice touch as well. The song does remind me I hear during a session of NBA2k or Madden, Cole does have a couple nice bars, the Cudi humming bar made me giggled a bit. That Mario line, however, yea that wasn't it. "m y l i f e" has a feature! Cole and 21 Savage link up again which was foreshadowed in Cole's doc. This a great track man, 21 ate this track up and washed Cole on here. 21 has improved a lot as a rapper, its a trip this same dude who made tracks like "Red Opps". The theme of the track is reflecting on their come-ups and the struggles they dealt with, I have a soft spot for these themes in tracks Morray I am not too familiar with, he has a great voice and a nice addition, he gave vibes of a church choir.
"a p p l y i n g p r e s s u r e" has Cole rapping about how we shouldn't pocket watch each other and rappers who flaunt their wealth but in reality, they broke. production is cool, I can see this being used in many freestyles. I know that line "If you broke and clowning a millionaire the joke is on you" had my timeline divided, personally I could care less. Pocket watching from both sides is just dumb in general but I get what he was trying to say here but is Cole really contradicting himself? Yes and no. I think it is more of a "Hey try and better yourself" anthem and Cole falling into that trap of being envious of other's success. If there is one bar that people should pay attention to the most, honesty is the Kojima line. That shit was good. "p u n c h i n '. t h e . c l o c k", It's way better than the interlude of the album. That's all I have to say, it's cool. " 1 0 0 . m i l'" I am gonna hear at my job since we "on that grind", its perfect "Walmart night stocker" music. Ton's of humble brag, him just saying "Yeah I am good at my craft but I am still getting better", Cole's vocal stood out to me, he was more singing rapping, he has sung in the past and it's not good at all but it works and flows well with the production.
"p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l" is Lil Baby's song, he stole the show here. Sorry Cole fans. I'm glad Baby finally clicked with me, his flow always keeps me engaged. The beat samples an Amine track from his recent album and both Cole and Baby did it justice. Rapping about one of the deadly sins and how it motivates their drive to continue on their success but also awhile being too prideful can hurt in the long run. To always remember the ones who never got to see the fortunes that they got themselves and help them not get their pride in the way. It's a simple but effective track. "l e t . g o . m y . h a n d ." my favorite track on the album. Cole rap self doubt and being a father of a black son during the times we still living right now in America. He goes into great detail about walking his son one day and how he son wanted to talk on his own and he thought about his son's future and hoping he's gonna lead him on the right path and make sure he's safe when his child gets old. Cole also raps about the time he fought Diddy back in 2013 on Kendrick's behalf when the whole "Control" track made the rounds, I forgot this happened. Diddy even appears at the outro, kinda funny. Bas and 6Lack on the hook, they did a fine job, Cole sings too on here and it's alright I guess.
The last four tracks on the album I wasn't feeling at all. The interlude track was cool but I wasn't crazy for it and the other one was from a two single EP he dropped last year, I didn't care for the song back then and I still don't. "c l o s e" production has a dope DOOM sample but the overall song wasn't all that to me. Like a leftover from one of his last couple of records, I relate to what the song is about, losing a friend to drugs, just wish It hit a bit harder cause I've heard better songs discussing this topic. "h u n g e r . o n . h i l l s i d e ." a fine closer to the album, always staying true to yourself no matter how famous you get. I've heard these songs so many times and usually roll my eyes at them but it is one of the better ones in my opinion.
Overall I enjoyed listening to this, nothing feels forced, and Cole just stays focused. I'm not in love with this album right but I could overtime later on in the year. Feels like a teaser or a mixtape to if and when Cole drops his final album "The Fall Off" and rides off in the sunset. I said early, Cole's best work in years, not many cringe lines, experimented with new sounds, flows, and features, and I am looking forward to what his retirement album gonna sound like.
Favorite Tracks: l e t . g o . m y . h a n d, 9 5 . s o u t h, m y . l i f e, a p p l y i n g. p re s s u r e, a m a r i, p r i d e . i s . t h e .d e vi l, 1 0 0. m i l ', p u n c h i n ' . t h e . c l o c k
Least Favorite Tracks: t h e . c l i m b . b a c k
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