J. Cole | "2014 Forest Hills Drive"

[Deleted]

Out December 9.

[Wave.]

Unexpected, but hey, he's delivered well so far.

[music89]

If it's true...i can't wait!!!!!!!!! (I still listen to Born Sinner)

[Linnethia Monique]

People are coming out with all kinds of information confirming this!
The album is named after the address of his childhood home that he purchased in June (Which was also a week to the day of the Born Sinner Anniversary).
He sent a letter out to the people in the neighborhood inviting them to an album listening happening the weekend of Thanksgiving (29th and 30th).
He shot a documentary it seems in the house sometime this year.
Jameel Roberts, who co-produced Usher' "Good Kisser", updated his Tumblr with a story from back in April where him and the same team that did "Good Kisser" went to his studio and worked on music for him for few days. J. Cole told him that the album was going to be called 2014 due to various personal reasons.
Also it showed up in the iTunes database.

This is so exciting!

[trustypepper]

Yassssss I'm ready

[Linnethia Monique]

OFFICIAL!!!!!

[music89]

yessssssss!!!!!!


2014 Forest Hills Drive
What up? My New Album is finished. It's called 2014 Forest Hills Drive and it's very special to me. It's available everywhere on 12/9. This time I'm releasing no singles, just the album. See you in 3 weeks. Thank you for the love and support.

- Cole

[#LisaRinna]

I'm ready!

[tamed09]

He so gets it...understands his talent and audience. I can't wait

[trustypepper]

What does everyone think of the title/album cover?

[Linnethia Monique]

I love it. They both are significant to his life. I'm all here for a themed album from Jermaine. Plus with DJ Dahi, Pop and Oak, etc all being apart of it, I am so here for all of it.

[Wave.]

I like it too. I'm expecting another great album.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

I'm interested to see how this no singles strategy works out. His last 2 albums have opened above 200k, so that's the range he should be looking at in a normal setting. But his last 2 albums also weren't released close to Christmas when sales are elevated. Could he do 300k?

[Wave.]

Nov 17, 2014 13:58:57 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

I'm interested to see how this no singles strategy works out. His

last 2 albums have opened above 200k, so that's the range he should be looking at in a normal setting. But his last 2 albums also weren't released close to Christmas when sales are elevated. Could he do 300k?

He's been consistent with his two outings, I wouldn't count this one out. I'll be suprised though.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

I'm kind of surprised they're doing it like this. He's never really had big pop success, but he's been consistent at urban and R&B. Will people even know he has an album out?

[trustypepper]

Nov 17, 2014 14:06:52 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

I'm kind of surprised they're doing it like this. He's never really had big pop success, but he's been consistent at urban and R&B. Will people even know he has an album out?

36,000 retweets on the announcement already though

[Linnethia Monique]

His main buying audience for sure will know that he has an album coming out. It seems that Jay-Z is encouraging his people towards these types of releases. "Watch the Throne" had a single come out only 2 weeks before the album release, "Yeezus" was released within a month of announcement, "Magna Carta Holy Grail" was released within 2 weeks of being announced, and "Beyonce" just dropped out of the sky. He probably already has a tour already scheduled since that's where a lot of his promoting comes from.

[Linnethia Monique]

He's currently going around to major US Cities and holding listening sessions for various radio programmers, journalists, djs, etc. He's been to Boston, Minneapolis to let buyers from Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and others listen to the album and now he is in Chicago for another listening session. We should be getting info any day now.

[Deleted]

Nov 17, 2014 13:58:57 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

I'm interested to see how this no singles strategy works out. His last 2 albums have opened above 200k, so that's the range he should be looking at in a normal setting. But his last 2 albums also weren't released close to Christmas when sales are elevated. Could he do 300k?

Xmas sales might be negated a bit by the lack of a hit leading into the release. The awareness is clearly there so that isn't really the issue, but casual fans might be more hesitant to pick this up without any clue what it sounds like. But with that said, i think he will open with at least 200k and would love to see him do even more - if the reviews and word of mouth are great, whatever his iop nitial projections are will only increase as the week goes on.

I remember his debut opened with 175k over 200k though I forget the exact amount, and iirc he only had one real radio hit at that point. J has always had a sizeable and really loyal fanbase that has been with him since his mixtape days so i understand why Roc Nation believes he can pull off a release like this.

[tamed09]

He's always made it strictly about the music, for him it's never been about the numbers. Hell if you remember back with the first album he was cool with dropping it after "Who Dat" came our but Columbia didn't allow it. The Grammys truly gave him their a$$ to kiss with that last album especially with a record like "Crooked Smile" being positive for the genre and having TLC on it. Not 1 nomination? Give me a break but again for him I really do feel that he moves like an underground artist even though he's been successful. That Dollar and a Dream tour should have shown everyone what kind of heart he has.

[Wave.]

"Power Trip " got a Grammy nomination.

[Deleted]

Nov 19, 2014 3:13:27 GMT -5 tamed09 said:

He's always made it strictly about the music, for him it's never been about the numbers. Hell if you remember back with the first album he was cool with dropping it after "Who Dat" came our but Columbia didn't allow it. The Grammys truly gave him their a$$ to kiss with that last album especially with a record like "Crooked Smile" being positive for the genre and having TLC on it. Not 1 nomination? Give me a break but again for him I really do feel that he moves like an underground artist even though he's been successful. That Dollar and a Dream tour should have shown everyone what kind of heart he has.

Yeah, j could care less about numbers, but still, the label does. That's why i think it speaks to the confidence they have in him now to let him do this, when they wouldn't let let him release the debut without a hit.

As for the grammys they are always full of shit, but J not winning anything wasn't necessarily a personal slight imo. Even if he had been nominated he wouldn't have beat kendrick (who in turn couldn't get past macklemore). Grammys are so political, and he probably doesn't care enough about them to put in the behind the scenes campaigning for them.

[Linnethia Monique]

He signed to Jay-Z after years of trying, he has been praised by his idol Nas, and he has a very loyal fan base. He has already said that he could give a sh!t about everything else :kii: Even being nominated for Best New Artist at The Grammys was enough for him.

[tamed09]

www.rap-up.com/2014/11/20/j-cole-surprises-fan-with-house-visit-plays-new-album/#more-198624

Like who does this?!!!

[Wave.]

Yessss, so laxed. I live for his approach on things. Cannot wait to hear the album.

[Hashtag Pow]

I loved every single song on the last album, and I still listen to it now. I hope this is just as good.

[music89]

Nov 20, 2014 12:11:54 GMT -5 tamed09 said:

www.rap-up.com/2014/11/20/j-cole-surprises-fan-with-house-visit-plays-new-album/#more-198624

Like who does this?!!!

OMGGGGGG!!!!!! :O

[SHOOTER]

I didn't care for his debut but I loved Born Sinner so I'm hyped to hear if this is the album to make me a hardcore lover of his.

[Live Your Life]

Man of the House: J. Cole left home to follow his rap dreams. To find true happiness, he’s going back to where he started.

What do you feel when you go back to Fayetteville?

Comfort and pride. I realized recently I’d never asked myself that question. When I’m home, I’m either stopping through to visit or I’m doing something for the [Dreamville] Foundation. I might get an extra day to see friends and family but then it’s off to the next thing. I’ve never been there long enough to feel comfortable and think, “This is home”—not until I was home doing a cover shoot for the album. I noticed I felt comfortable. Usually if there’s a camera rolling I’m anxious; it doesn’t feel natural to have a camera on me.

How has the city changed since you left?

People I grew up with tell me it’s getting worse. I don’t know if that has to do with the economy or if the education is getting worse. On the flipside, Fayetteville has some heroes now—even if they’re rappers or athletes. We never even had that [when I was growing up]. You couldn’t go to Raleigh, Charlotte, or Atlanta and be proud of where you were from. The pride before was about coming from somewhere that had a reputation of being a hard place to make it. Now there’s a pride about accomplishment, whether it’s me, or Eric Maynor, who made it to the NBA, or Eric Curry, who was the No. 3 draft pick in the NFL Draft. It sucks that these things have to come from sports and entertainment, but it’s something for kids to look up to and say, “Somebody from here did something.” I don’t want to inspire kids to rap. I want to let them know that anything they want to do is possible. I come from here and did some s**t that was impossible, so if you want to be an astronaut, lawyer, doctor, writer, journalist, or whatever, I want to inspire you to do that.

Coming from that, how does it feel that big companies are looking to work with you now?

It’s flattering that they would take notice, but it is f**king weird. I didn’t grow up wearing that s**t and [fashion] is still a new thing for me. Years ago, we had conversations as a team, like, “Are we going to start a clothing label? Do we want to turn it into some exclusive s**t and charge ***I'M RACIST***s this, that, and third?” That never felt right. I always liked accessibility. I loved the fact that I could attain Sean John, I could attain Rocawear, I could afford a $25 T-shirt. It might take my whole check to get those pieces but it was attainable. That was a struggle when we were considering a line: Do you want to separate yourself from who you are and the people who are where you just were?

It’s not exciting to receive business offers?

I’m not excited by business. I want to make music. I want to perform. Louis Vuitton—or whoever the f**k—could come to me right now and say, “We want to do a major deal with you,” and I’d be like, “Thank you. That’s flattering. And yeah, fine, let’s do it.” But there’s no excitement. Excitement is the anticipation of knowing people are about to hear my music. That other s**t is an honor and I appreciate it because it [shows that] the work has spread so far that it’s making it on these brands’ radar. But it’s not exciting.

But it seems you’re at a place, business-wise, that makes sense for you.

Things have the opportunity to be great. I’m laying the foundation right now. Am I a great businessman yet? No.

Do you want to be a great businessman?

I want to be a great artist first, and as good of a businessman as I can be without taking away from my art form. I’ve been through worrying about a hit and it forcing me to make a certain type of song because I got all this pressure. Business is only satisfying in the security of it and the fact that the better I am at business, the better I am at providing for my family. Business moves don’t bring me happiness. The things the business moves provide bring me happiness. Seeing Cozz about to drop his first project and remembering what that was like. Seeing Bas go on tour….

Is that what made you want to start the label?

I always wanted to be f**king Berry Gordy. I wanted to have a production platform. But now I realize that, even if I never produce a record for someone who’s signed to me, the real pleasure of having a label is watching somebody start from ground zero and get to level one, two, and three. These dudes are trying to get to 100. It’s mad rewarding for me to see.

This album feels like a turning point for you.

That’s exactly what it is. It’s crazy that I chose to record it in Hollywood because it’s such a “f**k Hollywood” album. Being out there maybe contributed to [me thinking], “I’m bugging. There’s some s**t that’s way more important than how many albums I sell and if I’m the best.”

What led to that realization?

I was unhappy when amazing things were happening, [career successes] that I should have been grateful for and super happy for. I didn’t feel I was getting the type of recognition I always wanted and that I felt you had to get to be considered at a certain level. Last year, I started to realize that means nothing. It’s all unattainable. You have no control over what somebody else feels about you, but you have 100 percent control over how you feel about yourself and how you feel about the people around you and how you handle life. I became happier and started to deal with s**t more, not run from the feelings, not have the anxiety, like, “Complex ain’t f**king with me? Man, f**k these ***I'M RACIST***s. They missed the whole s**t. They didn’t even tell ***I'M RACIST***s about The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights. They’re going to sleep on Born Sinner. Y’all didn’t see I sold more than Kanye?!”

That gave you anxiety?

Not all the time, but it was a source of anxiety at a time when I should have been like, “Damn, I’m blessed. I have so much positive s**t going on. I’ve got family and friends that love me. I have the opportunity to make music and have a career that I love.” That s**t is so minor.

That’s interesting because you, unlike a lot of your peers, don’t talk about the hate and the jokes about you being boring. It seems like it rolls off your back.

I’m an introverted person, especially with problems. I feel like I can deal with s**t on my own and I don’t need to express it. I put up a great front because I don’t want to show [that something bothers me], which is why I respect Wale. I’ve always loved that he says it and he says it right away, like, “Yo, I don’t feel this. Them ***I'M RACIST***s ain’t showing me no respect.” In a way, that’s therapeutic. To keep it in and suppress it makes it worse. That kind of expressiveness is not prevalent in my music, but you’ll find lines. That s**t affected me so much that I had to write a line about it. I can tell you five or six lines where it was addressed. That’s the danger of giving a f**k about what people say in an age where you can see what people say so easily. It’s about getting over that, like, “Man, I don’t give a f**k. I love me. I love this s**t I just made. If you like it, f**king great. It you don’t like it, cool. I hope you find some other s**t you like.” On my best day that’s how I feel.

At your Dollar and a Dream show in NYC, fans were lined up down the street, sharing umbrellas in the rain. That must make you feel good.

Now that’s a f**king honor. That’s a real reward to know that some s**t I made in my room alone on some excitement s**t, some therapy s**t, just capturing a moment and being in tune with magic and the universe and my soul, traveled so far and impacted somebody so much that they would do that. I’m f**king super grateful for that.

How do you feel people responded to Born Sinner?

I wish that it went further but I’m grateful because the people who got it fully appreciated it. They felt how I wanted them to feel.

When you made “Power Trip,” did you feel you had to make a hit song?

Hell no. See, that’s the thing about Born Sinner: I stripped that [pressure] away because I had been through that on the first album, with “Work Out.”

“Work Out” was you saying, “Yo, I need a hit.”

Yes, and I said, “I’m never going through that again.” And I never will. Born Sinner was the next phase of that, like, n*gga, don’t ever try to get the hit. It’s never going to work like that.” With “Power Trip,” I just went downstairs to make a beat because I was bored and that s**t flowed out. I didn’t even think it was going to be for the album; I thought I had my album already. I was just going to drop it the next day! Like, “I been quiet. I just want to throw some s**t out.” I went to Elite’s house to work on “Crooked Smile” and I played it for him and and Ib [A&R Ibrahim Hamad], like, “I just did this at the crib. What do you think?” In my heart, I knew the s**t was special and big but I wasn’t confident enough to say, “***I'M RACIST***, I got a crazy one.” Ib said the words I’d hoped to hear: “This is the one.” I needed that boost of confidence because I was in a creative place but I wasn’t in the most confident place.

You rap a lot about love. What is it that attracts you to it?

I guess because I’m interested. I became more conscious of that with this album. That’s what Hollywood represents versus 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which is home. Home is wherever the authentic, unconditional love is. The fake s**t, the synthesized love, is Hollywood. I ran from Fayetteville to New York, from New York to everywhere, ultimately looking for what? For love—respect and love from my peers, love from the fans, love from the critics. I’ve learned that none of that s**t is real. I appreciate it, it’s extra love, but it can and should only help and add to the real pot of love. It should not substitute. “Artists” that go to Hollywood and live their lives for the cameras, the attention, they’re supplementing for their lack of love, their holes. Those people—and maybe myself included—are ultimately running away from the place where the real love exists, because maybe it’s too painful, maybe it wasn’t the type of love that they needed, or it was void there. There was no father, there was no support. Wanting to be a movie star, wanting to be a rap star, wanting to have jewelry, wanting to have girls, and wanting to have money, all that s**t is just trying to plug those holes. It’s dangerous because it’s not real.

Do you feel the label and Jay Z believe in you more now?

They definitely believe in me more now. But first of all, Jay Z believed in me enough to sign me, and for that I am forever grateful. Thank God he heard “Lights Please” and those songs I played for him the first meeting. Thank God he signed me off of those. After that, I can’t front. If we asked him honestly, I’m sure he would say he wasn’t sure what I would turn out to be in the grand scheme of things, in terms of commercial success.

What was it like when he put the Roc chain on you?

That was a top life moment. I don’t soak s**t up well, but after that night I definitely took a moment to. It wasn’t about that moment of the chain. It was like, it took so long to even get this dude to come out on stage with me. It took so long to get this guy to come to shows.

Did he just show up on his own?

No, we asked him to come. But we still didn’t know if he was going to come. You’re never sure. It was a culmination. And what I’ve realized, now that I’m far removed from that era, is that he could have been letting me grow and do my own thing. He could have looked at me with more confidence than I had in myself, like, “This kid doesn’t need Jay Z to walk out on the stage with him. He doesn’t need Jay Z to get on his song. He can do it without me.”

Would you ever consider retiring—going out on top like Jay?

I don’t know. I love doing it, so I’m not going to use that as , like, “Last album—make sure you go out and buy.” But I’m content if this is my last one, going out like this. Listen to all my music and you’ll hear this ***I'M RACIST*** who went to New York City and started with a dream; he gained his confidence and his step with The Warm Up and was here to show y’all ***I'M RACIST*** “I’m the best”—and Friday Night Lights put a stamp on that. Sideline Story was like, “I have to figure this s**t out and sell records.” Born Sinner was “f**k, that wasn’t how I wanted to do it. I gotta make up for that one, I got to get back to myself.” And then fighting through all of that to realize on 2014 Forest Hills Drive, “No, this is where it was always at.”

Like, I’m good.

I’m good. I’m cool. That would be the illest note to leave listeners with.

[Wave.]

Wow. Awesome interview.