The latest person to do this is none other than J. Cole, who just posted a hilarious photoshop of Sanders replacing him on the 2014 Forest Hills Drive cover. Considering the fact Bernie ran against Biden during the 2020 primary, it’s quite ironic that the Vermont Senator ultimately outshined the new President on. 2014 Forest Hills Drive is Cole planting himself in the pantheon of rap greats, a volley to the spike of Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse. He gets more than a little ahead of himself, though. Still, after hearing his third album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive (. ½ out of four), out Tuesday, it seems as if it wouldn't hurt Cole to have someone like Jay in his ear every now and then, if for.

• J Cole Forest Hills Drive Homecoming
• J Cole Forest Hills Drive Live Vinyl

Forest Hills Drive: Live is the first live album by American hip hop recording artist J. Cole. It was released on January 28, 2016 coinciding with Cole's 31st birthday, and recorded on August 30, 2015 live in Fayetteville, North Carolina.^[1]

Background[edit]

J. Cole: Road to Homecoming[edit]

On December 15, 2015, Cole announced a mini-documentary series titled, J. Cole: Road to Homecoming and released episode one the same day.^[2] Episode two was released on December 23.^[3] Episode three was released on December 30, Kendrick Lamar, Wale, ASAP Ferg and Rihanna made appearances.^[4] Episode four was released on January 6, 2016.^[5] All episodes were available for free on Vimeo until January 9.

Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming[edit]

Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming aired January 9, 2016, on HBO and HBO Now, and includes guest appearances from Jay Z, Drake, and Wale. The film took place during his Forest Hills Drive Tour at his fall 2015 show at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.^[6][7] On January 28, 2016, Cole released the music video for 'Love Yourz', which first premiered in the live concert film.^[8]

Commercial performance[edit]

In his home country of United States, the album debuted at number 71 on the US Billboard 200 and number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.^[9] On the chart dated May 21, 2016 Forest Hills Drive: Live debuted at number 14 on the US Vinyl Albums chart.^[10]

Track listing[edit]

1. 'Intro (Live)' – 2:06
2. 'January 28th (Live)' – 6:55
3. 'Wet Dreamz (Live)' – 4:25
4. '03' Adolescence (Live)' – 4:32
5. 'A Tale of 2 Citiez (Live)' – 4:44
6. 'Fire Squad (Live)' – 3:39
7. 'St. Tropez (Live)' – 7:47
8. 'Intermission (Live)' (includes 'Lights Please', 'In the Morning', & 'Nobody's Perfect') – 6:50
9. 'G.O.M.D. (Live)' – 5:01
10. 'No Role Modelz (Live)' – 5:56
11. 'Hello (Live)' – 3:01
12. 'Apparently (Live)' – 4:46
13. 'Love Yourz (Live)' – 7:44

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Forest Hills Drive: Live^[13]

• Juro 'Mez' Davis – mix engineer
• DJ Dummy – DJ, music director
• Ron Gilmore – keyboard
• Irvin Washington – keyboard
• David Linaburg – guitar
• Carlin White – drums
• T. S. Desandies – background vocals
• Brittany Carter – background vocals
• Cedric Brown – stage manager
• Lashard Davis – props manager
• Jonathan Gilmore – lighting director
• Brandon Henderson – monitor engineer
• Raymond Rodgers – production manager, front of house engineer
• Tygrr Dosremedios – assistant production manager
• Chris Athens – master engineer
• Elijah Shaw – head of security
• KC Saney – tour manager
• Adam Rodney for Dreamville – creative manager
• Vlad Sepetov – photography
• Ryan Doubiago – photography
• Ibrahim Hamad for Dreamville – management

Charts[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Kat Boehrer (January 26, 2016). 'J. Cole Plans to Release Live Album on His Birthday'. Complex. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
2. ^Augustin, Camille. 'J. Cole Releases Part One Of Mini-Documentary Series Ahead Of HBO Special'. Vibe. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
3. ^Schwartz, Danny. 'J. Cole's HBO Documentary 'Road To Homecoming' (Episode 2)'. hotnewhiphop. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
4. ^Augustin, Camille. 'Wale, Kendrick Lamar & Rihanna Join J. Cole in Episode 3 Of 'Road To Homecoming' Series'. Vibe. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
5. ^Danny Schwartz (January 6, 2016). 'J. Cole's HBO Documentary 'Road To Homecoming' (Episode 4)'. hotnewhiphop. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
6. ^Boehrer, Kat (January 28, 2016). 'J. Cole Plans to Release Live Album on His Birthday'. Complex. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
7. ^J. Cole (December 15, 2015). 'Read this. Then watch this. New episode every Wednesday leading up to concert film on...' Twitter. Archived from the original on January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)^{[non-primary source needed]}
8. ^Big Homie (January 29, 2016). 'NEW VIDEO: J.COLE 'LOVE YOURZ (LIVE)''. Rap Radar. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
9. ^ ^ab'J. Cole Chart History (Billboard 200)'. Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
10. ^'J. Cole Billboard charts'. Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
11. ^Jeffries, David (January 28, 2016). 'J. Cole – Forest Hills Drive: Live from Fayetteville, NC'. AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
12. ^McKrell, Aaron (February 22, 2016). 'J. Cole – Forest Hills Drive: Live'. HipHopDX. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
13. ^'J. Cole – Forest Hills Drvie: Live'. jcolemusic. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
14. ^'J. Cole Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)'. Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2016.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.

As the decade comes to a close, music fans have began to reminisce over the artists, albums and songs that defined the past ten years. One name that consistently pops up in conversations about the stars who’ve made a memorable impact during the 2010s is J. Cole, who is one of the rare talents to have hit the trifecta in the aforementioned categories.

From building his legend on the mixtape circuit with classics like Friday Night Lights to dropping a string of platinum studio efforts, the Fayetteville native and Queens transplant has become an omnipresence by quietly building his empire one brick at a time. While many would deem the entirety of his career to be an overwhelming success, the one creative achievement from this decade that J. Cole will always be remembered for is his third studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

Released on December 9, 2014, the album completed the rapper’s evolution from impressionable rook to self-assured talent. A watershed moment for one of this generation’s most revered emcees, 2014 Forest Hills Drive has been appraised as the crown jewel in Cole’s catalog and the album that he officially came into his own.

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In celebration of the fifth anniversary of the album’s release, REVOLT details five ways 2014 Forest Hills Drive marked an artistic leap for J. Cole.

1. The Promotional Campaign

Following lengthy promotional campaigns for his first two studio albums, J. Cole decided to change course with the roll-out for 2014 Forest Hills Drive by announcing the album’s impending arrival, title and release date less than a month before its release. Shunning the traditional media blitz that accompanies new drops by superstars, the rapper reverted back to his roots, literally, hosting a listening party at the childhood that inspired the album’s title. Inviting a handful of his most rabid fans, the setting was intimate and kept the general public salivating with anticipation, which made Dec. 9 more of an event than a release date.

2. The Singles

Touted as a gifted lyricist since first making waves with his 2009 mixtape, The Warm Up, the one minor knock on Cole had been his struggle to balance his artistic integrity with his pursuit of scoring radio-friendly hits. Sans the undeniable 2013 smash “Power Trip,” his singles may have garnered chart position and radio airplay, but were oft-maligned by his core base of fans and pundits alike. Heading into the recording process for 2014 Forest Hills Drive, the Dreamvillian took a different approach by choosing to let the music come organically rather than keying in on delivering a chart-topper. The result was an album with no obvious single even though tracks like “Apparently,” “Wet Dreamz,” and “No Role Modelz” all caught traction and appeared on the Billboard Hot 100.

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3. No Features

A key ingredient to many great albums have been their guest appearances with some of the greatest artists of all-time getting assistance from their peers, resulting in some of the greatest collaborative efforts. At the outset of his career, Cole would take a similar route by enlisting heavyweights like JAY-Z, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, Trey Songz, Miguel and others to co-star alongside him on his first two studio albums. Receiving strong, but mixed reviews, on those releases, Cole pressed the reset button and adopted a new, self-contained formula during the writing and recording process for 2014 Forest Hills Drive. This manifested in the album being devoid of any feature artists, which has become a badge of honor for his legion of supporters.

J Cole Forest Hills Drive Homecoming

4. The Content

J. Cole had occasionally revealed bits and pieces of the inner-workings of his life on previous albums, mixtapes and EPs. But, his transparency would reach unprecedented levels on his fourth studio album. In addition to the LP’s title; songs like “03’ Adolescence,” “St. Tropez,” and “Hello” all captured the psyche of Jermaine Cole, the man behind the metaphors. In terms of inspirational anthems, “Apparently” and “Love Yourz” were exactly what the doctor ordered and rank among the Born Sinner’s finest performances to date. And when you throw in more light-hearted fair like “G.O.M.D.” and “No Role Modelz” with gauntlets throw on “Fire Squad,” the culmination is J. Cole’s most cohesive album thus far.

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5. The Accolades

J Cole Forest Hills Drive Live Vinyl

While his first two studio albums were both commercially successful, 2014 Forest Hills Drive marked the height of J. Cole’s success at that point in time. Debuting atop the Billboard 200, the album moved 353,000 units in its first week, and trumped the initial returns for Cole World: Sideline Story and Born Sinner by a sizable margin. Selling more than three million copies to date, 2014 Forest Hills Drive was a massive commercial success, but was also praised by critics, many of whom deemed the album as one of the superior releases of the year. Garnering a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards, and taking home Album of the Year at the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards, and Top Rap Album at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards, 2014 Forest Hills Drive achieved the coveted trifecta of critical acclaim, mainstream recognition, and commercial success.