By: Ryan Martin
2014 Forest Hills Drive was an incredible album and one of my favorites of 2014. Run The Jewels's Run The Jewels 2, Logic's Under Pressure and that album made up for the drought in music we experienced that year. It was also my first taste of J. Cole and it showed me first hand how talented he really is. But this isn't an article telling you how great that album is, even though I encourage you to spend the hour and indulge that album because it is really a masterpiece. Around a year after the album initially came out, J. Cole partnered with HBO to release not only an hour and half movie documenting the concert he sold out in his home town of Fayetteville, North Carolina. But four different hour long episodes leading up to the finale homecoming concert. Each one documenting the different steps Cole took before he came home. Whether it be the short annual Dollar & A Dream tour where he performed Friday Night Lights in it's entirety at each show. To him putting the final touches on the album or making beats. To the tour life and some of the many concerts he put on to support his new album. Bringing out friends like Kendrick Lamar, Wale & A$AP Ferg for some special shows.
It's not very often that a rapper puts on such a cinematic event, especially with such a big name as HBO. But the partnership ended in success as the show has gathered a ton of attention for the continuously growing fan-base for both J. Cole and the other members of Dreamville. A record label that houses artists like Bas, Omen and Cole obviously. As he is one of the co-founders along with Ibrahim Hamad. Cole and Hamad built something from nothing and now it looks like it is finally starting to pay off. It's no debate that Cole is easily the most popular of the Dreamville team but with him giving exposure to Bas & Omen. Whose to say they couldn't drop a banger like A$AP Ferg did (who has always played second fiddle to A$AP Rocky) and set the world on fire?
The movie itself is a must watch. After you have finished the album of course. Don't watch the movie then buy the album. Buy the album, figure out who YOU think J. Cole is and hear his passion and then experience it visually. I'm glad Cole got HBO on board with this project because their quality they put into their work never disappoints and J. Cole Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming is no exception. This movie truly shows where J. Cole came from and helps you understand him better. I also highly recommend watching the four-part episodes that lead up to 'Homecoming'. It's as interesting as it is entertaining. I hope this isn't the last we see of Cole on the big screen. His albums are as fun to watch be created as they are to listen to.
2014 Forest Hills Drive was an incredible album and one of my favorites of 2014. Run The Jewels's Run The Jewels 2, Logic's Under Pressure and that album made up for the drought in music we experienced that year. It was also my first taste of J. Cole and it showed me first hand how talented he really is. But this isn't an article telling you how great that album is, even though I encourage you to spend the hour and indulge that album because it is really a masterpiece. Around a year after the album initially came out, J. Cole partnered with HBO to release not only an hour and half movie documenting the concert he sold out in his home town of Fayetteville, North Carolina. But four different hour long episodes leading up to the finale homecoming concert. Each one documenting the different steps Cole took before he came home. Whether it be the short annual Dollar & A Dream tour where he performed Friday Night Lights in it's entirety at each show. To him putting the final touches on the album or making beats. To the tour life and some of the many concerts he put on to support his new album. Bringing out friends like Kendrick Lamar, Wale & A$AP Ferg for some special shows.
It's not very often that a rapper puts on such a cinematic event, especially with such a big name as HBO. But the partnership ended in success as the show has gathered a ton of attention for the continuously growing fan-base for both J. Cole and the other members of Dreamville. A record label that houses artists like Bas, Omen and Cole obviously. As he is one of the co-founders along with Ibrahim Hamad. Cole and Hamad built something from nothing and now it looks like it is finally starting to pay off. It's no debate that Cole is easily the most popular of the Dreamville team but with him giving exposure to Bas & Omen. Whose to say they couldn't drop a banger like A$AP Ferg did (who has always played second fiddle to A$AP Rocky) and set the world on fire?
The movie itself is a must watch. After you have finished the album of course. Don't watch the movie then buy the album. Buy the album, figure out who YOU think J. Cole is and hear his passion and then experience it visually. I'm glad Cole got HBO on board with this project because their quality they put into their work never disappoints and J. Cole Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming is no exception. This movie truly shows where J. Cole came from and helps you understand him better. I also highly recommend watching the four-part episodes that lead up to 'Homecoming'. It's as interesting as it is entertaining. I hope this isn't the last we see of Cole on the big screen. His albums are as fun to watch be created as they are to listen to.