Re-Reviewing J. Cole’s “Cole World” - It’s Better Than You Remember Posted by Ryan Buell on 04/01/13 | Filed under Top Stories, Opinion, J. Cole, Album Reviews

A Note From Nathan S.:

Over the last few days the homie Ryan Buell, better known around the comments section as Bueller, has been insisting to me that J. Cole's "Cole World", an album I was originally lukewarm about, was actually one of the better albums over the last few years. It sounds like exactly the kind of topic RefinedHype Nation's going to enjoy digging into, so I'm posting his full breakdown of his argument.

Enjoy...

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The thing about music is that it changes over time. Or rather, the music stays the same, but our perspective on it changes. This is all the truer for real, quality hip-hop, since there is so much more depth—specifically lyrical and thematic depth—for the listener to delve into. So it is inevitable that opinions about an album can change, sometimes dramatically, with time.

Case in point: J Cole’s "Cole World: The Sideline Story". The Roc Nation rapper’s label debut was widely perceived as underwhelming. To quote the DJBooth review at the time, “It sounds like Cole couldn’t quite hold up the weight placed on his young shoulders.” The album had its moments to be sure, but it felt a little lackluster on the whole. I was certainly a part of the mildly disappointed crowd, but more than a year and a half later, "Cole World" still gets regular plays in my music rotation, and I dare even suggest it as Cole’s best work to date.

What better example of this than the album’s highlight single, "Mr. Nice Watch". People, me included, didn’t just dislike the song, they couldn’t stand it. Hova was supposed to be passing the torch on this? That beat feels like it’s been done before, the verses are nothing too special, and the song as a whole feels very out of place for Cole. Really though Jay: “I got a Hublot, I call it Tebow, I strap that bitch with a gator band,” that’s the best you can do? Turns out this joint was just a good wine; it needed to age a bit. Cole’s rhymes slowly seemed like less swag rap, and more brilliant word play. “Young black and gifted, I rap like it’s Christmas Eve.” Now that’s a pun. The beat started to grow on me a month or two after the album dropped. Initially overshadowed by the mechanic, rather annoying synth drop that defines half the song, a stronger smooth piano sound lends a certain epicness to the hook and particularly the second half of Jay’s verse. Speaking of Jay’s verse, he straight turns on the flow once the beat switches, capping it off by passing the torch with “What up Cole? It’s your time.” Listening to this song now, I can hardly fathom not liking it. It’s a mainstream sound accented by typical Cole lyricism. Tortured by a beat that isn’t always perfect and flows that don’t show off the lyrics, it’s a stronger song than we ever gave it a chance to be.



The process of digesting an album begins with those first few songs that stick in your head. “Cole World,” “Nobody’s Perfect,” and “Can’t Get Enough” (not to mention the introspective standouts “Lost Ones” and “Never Told”) were the ones that initially stood out. Given a few months of listening though, you start finding gems where you hadn’t looked earlier. Take “Rise and Shine” for example. Not the most slept on song, but not the most played either. The gospel influenced beat is powerful while remaining catchy. The lyrics are a clear stand out on this song, as Cole raps, “No criminal record but I’m makin criminal records/Isn’t it ironic? Isn’t it iconic?” But where this song really earns its pay is in Cole’s flow. He incorporates the same passion he showed off on earlier mixtapes with a more aggressive griminess. Cole shows some next level skill on this song, and is at his best here. If you want to prove Cole didn’t fall off at all in "Cole World", this is the song. The hook is super smooth and Cole passionately raps about the corruption of “Daddy’s Little Girl.”



The real test however of an album’s staying power is those songs that stood out on first listen. 19 months later, “Can’t Get Enough” comes on and I still start rapping along to the first verse. The Trey Songz hook is absolutely addictive. “Nobody’s Perfect” is still the album’s highlight, and proves that Cole can make a single with mass appeal and genuine quality. I’ve heard these songs hundreds of times, and yet they never fail to excite me when they come on. That’s the sign of a great album.



In a music world that’s run by the present, and dominated by the next hot thing, sometimes it can be good to look back. It’s a reminder that music warrants time, and that in the rush to find the next big thing, we can lose sight of a recent great one. J Cole makes music that sounds better the more you hear it; the intricacies of his music can only be appreciated with time. "Cole World: The Sideline Story" was the album we all wanted it to be, we just didn’t see it at first.

See Also:  Waiting for J. Cole to Become Great…