REVIEW: J. Cole - Truly Yours

Well, well, well look who finally decided to drop some music. J. Cole has been throwing out small verses over the past year thinking that was going to suffice for true fans of him like myself. I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve been waiting for his album to drop for quite some time or at least a damn mixtape! The Niftian and I definitely think Jermaine is bullshitting and needs to make his self relevant again in hip-hop. Cole has performed at shows with Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, and other artists but the biggest question has been, “When are you dropping NEW material!?” Well the wait is over J. Cole fans.  The very talented artist dropped a 5 track EP yesterday evening titled “Truly Yours.”  While I am patiently awaiting “Born Sinner” to drop, which was pushed back, this should hold me over for at least a month until I want more material but I’m not going to be greedy.

The first track to this EP is “Can I holla at ya.” This track was a great starter and he came out hard with Lauryn Hill saying, “One day…you’re gonna understand.” The first verse is about an old flame that he used to have back in Fayetteville. Cole speaks on how he hasn’t spoken to the girl in a couple years but how he still has the utmost respect for her but comes to her being married. She responds to him living his life on the road and how he wouldn’t have waited for her if the shoes were on the opposite foot, but she wishes she could buy back time to be with him. The second verse is towards one of his mother’s exes who played him just as he played his mother. He felt closer to this man more than his own father because he introduced him to certain things, one of which being to Tupac. Cole was hurt because he let this man in his heart but he ended up leaving his mother and in term leaving Cole, being the predominant father figure he had.

Perhaps the deepest lyrics on the song are, “Feeling bitter so these words might seem jumble/ when you left I watched that lady crumble/ I know by now you probably a old man/ but still I feel I won’t be satisfied until we throw hands, for all the ass whoopins/ heard you trynna talk, tell that punk don’t call me/ you ain’t shit and I’m scared it rubbed off on me…I’ll holla at you.” The third verse is Cole talking to his boy from the past who should be with him but he is still home and on drugs. Cole is saying that he doesn’t even recognize his brother now because he had potential but it’s a fatality in a sense because he wasted what he could have been.

The next track is titled, “Crunch Time,” and it is simply about hard work. The first verse takes you into perspective of a drug dealer who is wondering if he would have made different choices. The man wonders if he would have went to college, would he have gotten a degree and would he be married. The man, like a lot of other individuals in similar and/or different situations feels as if he is a product of his environment, “I understand they say you make your own bed, but tell me who supplied these sheets with this cheap ass thread?”  The man states while he is robbing another person, “These are the times/ survival my only crime/ I gotta be on my grind/ a lot of my homies gone/ inside of me lord I know it’s a lot of we gone be fine, but momma I’m tired of crying/ just lie to me one more time…cause it’s crunch time.” The second verse J. Cole is reaching out to aspiring artists who have a passion for rapping but the labels aren't showing any interest but you have to keep working for it. Cole states how he feels the pain of the artists trying to make a name for their self, but it’s Crunch Time.

J. Cole definitely did not disappoint me on this EP. While I am eager for his album to drop, I felt like this was the music I’ve been missing. We at Best In The Mix believe J. Cole is talented but hasn’t been consistent with the releases (still taking into consideration the fuckery that is taking place at Roc Nation), but this is a good start to coming back in the game. I love all five of the tracks on this piece (another titled “Stay” that deserves an honorable mention, which is the track from Nas’ album “Life is Good”) and will be having this on repeat with my Beats by Dre. I think all hip-hop fans and especially J. Cole fans will love this. The story telling is what Cole exceeds at on this tape and what will really capture listeners. Do yourself a favor and download some great music.