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2014 Forest Hills Drive

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Untitled

2014 Forest Hills Drive is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist J. Cole, released on December 9, 2014, under Dreamville, Roc Nation and Columbia Records.[2]

The album was mainly produced by Cole himself, along with others such as !llmind, Vinylz, Phonix Beats and Willie B. The album was announced 3 weeks before its release, and had very little marketing, with no singles or promotion taking place prior to its release. 2014 Forest Hills Drive was supported by two singles: "Apparently" and "G.O.M.D". Upon its release, 2014 Forest Hills Drive received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number one on Billboard 200, selling 371,000 copies in its first week of release. It has since been certified Gold by the RIAA.[3]

2014 Forest Hills Drive is also Cole's final album to be released under Columbia Records, according to his shout-out section of the album's final track, "Note to Self".[4]

Background

The title of the album happens to be the address of J. Cole's childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he grew up with his mom, brother, and stepfather. Shortly after graduating high school in 2003, the home was foreclosed while J. Cole attended St. John's University in New York City. In 2014, the rapper re-bought the house, marking Cole's first home purchase, and inspiring the title of his 3rd album.[5] It is where he wrote some of his earliest raps and became serious about pursuing a career as a musician.[6] The album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive recounts the story of Cole leaving North Carolina, and moving to New York City all in pursuit of his dreams; it battles with the transition that were taken in order to find his success and fame within the Music Industry. The majority of Cole's childhood involved him and his family frequently moving from place to place while their mother tried to make ends meet. Cole now plans on allowing a new family to move in to the house he once called home for an extremely cheap renting price, in the hope that they will find their feet in life like he once did.[7]

Recording and production

Most of the production of this album came from J. Cole. Guest producers include Elite, who also contributed on Cole's previous projects, The Warm Up, Friday Night Lights, and Born Sinner, Dreamville's in-house producer, Ron Gilmore, DJ Dahi, !llmind, Phonix Beats, Vinylz, Organized Noize, and Jproof with additional production provided by Cardiak and CritaCal.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Release and promotion

On November 16, 2014, J. Cole released a video trailer where he announced he would be releasing his third album, titled 2014 Forest Hills Drive, on December 9. The video also featured footage regarding the making-of the album. Additionally, the album's name sake was revealed to be the address of Cole's childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina.[15][16][17] On December 5, the music video for the song "Intro", was released.[18] On February 13, 2015, Cole announced that he would further promote the album with a tour entitled, Forest Hills Drive Tour.[19]

Singles

On December 9, 2014, the songs "Apparently"and "G.O.M.D.", were serviced to American mainstream urban radio, as the album's first and second single, respectively.[20][21] Cole would also go on to release the music video for "Apparently", on December 9.[22] "Apparently" has since peaked at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[23]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic67/100[24]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[25]
Complex[26]
Exclaim!8/10[27]
HipHopDX[28]
Pitchfork Media6.9/10[29]
The Plain DealerB-[30]
Spin6/10[31]
USA Today[32]
XXL (XL)[33]

2014 Forest Hills Drive received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 67, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 17 reviews.[24] Erin Lowers of Exclaim! said, "J. Cole's determined to make music that matters to him. He shines without any features, standing strong in his delivery and carrying his story to the forefront of the 13-track project. While it may not be his Late Registration, he has definitely graduated into a class of his own."[27] Andre Grant of HipHopDX stated, "There are many things that can be said bout J. Cole's 2014 Forest Hills Drive. It is ambitious and hokey and simplistic. It tries its hand at twists and comes up short ("Wet Dreamz"), and it sticks to Cole's strategy instead of changing it drastically. It is less artistic than it means to be, but it is truer than anything he's ever made. Its narrative, the tropes, and the strategies are completely overcome by the album's terrifying integrity. It is immensely relatable because it is not afraid to be corny and cliché."[28] Craig Jenkins of Pitchfork Media said, "2014 Forest Hills Drive is a decent album selling itself as great. It wraps itself in the garments of a classic, but you can see that the tailoring is off."[29] Kellan Miller of XXL stated, "Hip-hop fans can be some of the most difficult to satisfy, and while there is no atrocious songs on 2014 Forest Hills Drive, this album reinforces the faith that Cole is a superstar. With every quality drop from the self-proclaimed “God,” his ceiling will continue to grow and so will fan expectations. On the finale track, “Note To Self,” Cole gives a long-winded thank you session against the sound of merry horns: “Everything happened too perfectly and in line.” J. Cole is righfully satisfied with the end product, as will the fans."[33]

David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "2014 Forest Hills Drive comes off as a great, experimental, and advancing mixtape, but it's insider to a fault, as slight as that fault might be."[25] Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times stated, "2014 Forest Hills Drive," his third major-label disc, is thick with the residue of these immersions. Even when he's drawing on his own experiences — the album's title refers to the address of his childhood home — he exercises an observational acuity that suggests how much noticing he's been doing lately."[34]

Accolades

Jessica Goodman and Ryan Kistobak of The Huffington Post included the album on their list of the year's best releases, noting that "The album's content is often far from innocent" and that "While the album still feels short of such stature, it sets the pace for its inevitable rise."[35] Associated Press named it the second best album of 2014 stating, "The insanely talented rapper captures so much on his third album, tackling various topics from losing his virginity to growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina to contemporary rappers, who should take note. His rhymes are smart, and he is a powerful storyteller that, at times, echoes rap king Nas."[36] The album was also ranked the 4th best album of 2014 by Complex.[37] HipHopDX included the album on their top 25 albums of the year list.[38]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling a total of 371,228 copies, with 353,538 copies consisting of whole album sales and the remaining 17,690 copies determined based on individual song sales and streaming data. This is a tracking change that was implemented by Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard in December 2014.[39] 2014 Forest Hills Drive became the best first week sales of J. Cole's career, outpacing the first week sales of his second album Born Sinner, by 74,000 copies (297,000 copies).[40] In addition to the album's sales toppling early projections by over 100,000 copies, 2014 Forest Hills Drive also broke One Direction's record for most album streams on Spotify, being streamed over 15.7 million times in its first week, compared to One Direction's 11.5 streams.[41] However, the actual record holder is Drake, with 15.8 million streams for his album Nothing Was the Same. He later broke this record with 17.3 million streams for his album If You're Reading This It's Too Late.[42] Cole also became one of only six rappers to reach number one with his first three full-length studio albums. He follows Drake, Rick Ross, Nelly, DMX, and Snoop Dogg.[43]

In its 2nd week, the album dropped to #4 on the chart, selling 135,471 copies, which included 118,781 whole album sales.[44] In its 3rd week, the album fell to #6, selling 120,417 more copies, which included 104,404 whole album sales. Sales thus totaled 627,116 at the end of 2014.[45] In its 4th week, the album fell to #7, selling 59,484 copies, which included 47,625 whole album sales.[46] In its 5th week, the album remained at #7, selling 45,111 copies, which included 34,403 whole album sales.[47] In its 6th week, the album dropped to #14, selling 28,904 copies, 19,746 of which were whole album sales.[48] In its 7th week, the album dropped to #19, selling 26,066 copies, 17,485 of which were whole album sales. [49] In its 8th week, the album climbed to #16, selling 31,207 copies, 22,386 of which were whole album sales.[50] In its 9th week, the album remained at #16, selling 25,335 copies, 17,366 of which were whole album sales.[51] In its 10th week, the album fell to #22, selling 23,851 copies, 16,213 of which were whole album sales.[52]

As of March 10, 2015, the album has sold a total of 956,000 copies in the United States.[53]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"Jermaine ColeJ. Cole, Ron Gilmore**2:09
2."January 28th"Cole, Y. Arai, Kaye MuraiJ. Cole, Nick Paradise**, Dre Charles** & Team Titans**4:02
3."Wet Dreamz"Cole, C. Simmons, R. HammondJ. Cole3:59
4."03' Adolescence"Cole, Willie Brown, J. Burke, J. Van HeusenWillie B4:24
5."A Tale of 2 Citiez"Cole, Anderson HernandezVinylz4:29
6."Fire Squad"Cole, M. FarnerJ. Cole, Vinylz**4:48
7."St. Tropez"Cole, M. Small, A. Fischer, W. Giffin III, J. Carthorn, D Hollis, D. Williams, D. Wolinski, W. IrvineJ. Cole4:17
8."G.O.M.D."Cole, D. Andrews, D. Holmes, E. Jackson, J. SmithJ. Cole5:01
9."No Role Modelz"Cole, Kurtis Figueroa, Darius Barnes, M. Whitemon, Paul Beauregard, Jordan Houston, T. Stevens, Earl Stevens, D. Stevens, B. JonesPhonix Beats, J. Cole**4:52
10."Hello"ColeJ. Cole, Pop Wansel*, Jproof*3:39
11."Apparently"Cole, F. Trecca, Jay RichJ. Cole4:53
12."Love Yourz"Cole, Ramon Ibanga, Jr., Carl McCormick, Calvin Price!llmind, Cardiak**, CritaCal**3:31
13."Note to Self"Cole, Ronald GilmoreJ. Cole*, Ron Gilmore*14:35
Total length:64:39

 • (*) designates co-producer
 • (**) designates additional production

Sample credits
  • "January 28th" samples "Sky Restaurant" by Hi-Fi Set.
  • "Wet Dreamz" samples "Mariya" by Family Circle and "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers.
  • "03' Adolescence" interpolates "Runnin'" by 2Pac & The Notorious B.I.G. and "Here's That Rainy Day" by Sonita Rosa.
  • "A Tale of 2 Citiez" samples "Blocka" by Pusha T and "Bring 'em Out" by T.I..
  • "Fire Squad" samples "Midnight Theme" by Manzel and "Long Red" by Mountain.
  • "St. Tropez" samples "That's All Right With Me" by Esther Phillips and interpolates "Hollywood" by Rufus & Chaka Khan.
  • "G.O.M.D." interpolates "Get Low" by Lil Jon and samples "Berta, Berta" by Branford Marsalis.
  • "No Role Modelz" samples "Don't Save Her" by Project Pat.
  • "Apparently" samples "La Morte Dell'ermina" by Filippo Trecca.
  • "Love Yourz" samples "Long Red" by Mountain.
  • "Note to Self" samples "Diamonds and Pearls" by Prince.

Personnel

Credits for 2014 Forest Hills Drive adapted from AllMusic.[54]

  • Jermaine Cole – primary artist, producer
  • Mark Pitts – executive producer
  • Ramon Ibanga Jr. – producer
  • Anderson Hernandez – producer
  • William "Willie B" Brown – producer
  • Pop Wansel – producer
  • Darius Barnes – producer
  • Ronald Gilmore – additional production, bass, keyboards, producer
  • Jproof – producer
  • Nate Jones – bass
  • David Linaburg – guitar
  • Nate Alford – engineer
  • Travis Antoine – trumpet
  • Anthony Blasko – photography
  • Felton Brown – art direction, graphic design
  • Johnny Burke – composer
  • James Casey – saxophone
  • Chargaux – strings
  • Jeremy Cimino – assistant engineer
  • Damone Coleman – sampling
  • Jero "Mez" Davis – engineer, mixing
  • T.S Rose Desandies – vocals (background)
  • DJ Dahi – beats
  • Dreamville – executive producer
  • Kaye Fox – vocals (background)
  • Julius Garcia – A&R coordination
  • Ibrahim Hamad – A&R
  • James Van Heusen – composer
  • Jeff Gitelman – guitar
  • Mwango "MK" Kasote – A&R
  • Justin Thomas Kay – art direction, graphic design
  • Sean Kellett – assistant engineer
  • Raphael Lee – string engineer
  • Nuno Malo – strings
  • Jack Mason – horn engineer
  • Camille Mathews – product manager
  • Carl McCormick – composer, instrumentation
  • Nervous Reck – sampling
  • Nelly Ortiz – product manager
  • April Pope – product manager
  • Calvin Price – composer, instrumentation
  • Yolanda Renee – vocals (background)
  • Roc Nation – executive producer
  • James Rodgers – trombone (bass)
  • Adam Rodney – creative director
  • Team Titans – additional production
  • Andre Thomas – additional production
  • Timothy "Nick Paradise" Thomas – additional production

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[55] 40
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[56] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[57] 25
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[58] 56
UK Albums (OCC)[59] 27
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[60] 1
US Billboard 200[61] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[62] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[3] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ "J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive (Album Stream)". HYPETRAK. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  2. ^ "iTunes - Music - 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole". iTunes. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "American album certifications – J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive". Recording Industry Association of America. Cite error: The named reference "United StatesJ. Cole2014 Forest Hills DrivealbumCertRef" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Note to Self by J. Cole - Genius". Genius. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  5. ^ Scott, Damien. "MAN OF THE HOUSE". www.complex.com.
  6. ^ "Take A Tour Of J. Cole's Room Where He Wrote Early Raps". MTV News. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  7. ^ "J. Cole Gives Tour of Childhood Home, Covers Complex". The Boombox. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  8. ^ Edwin Ortiz. "Interview: J. Cole's Producer Elite Discusses "Born Sinner" and Meeting L.A. Reid". Complex. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  9. ^ "Ron Gilmore - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  10. ^ "J. Cole & DJ Dahi In The Studio". The Source. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  11. ^ "Vinylz on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  12. ^ "Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  13. ^ "Cardiak on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  14. ^ "Critacal on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Rap-Up.com -- J. Cole Announces New Album '2014 Forest Hills Drive'". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  16. ^ "Is J. Cole Dropping A New Album Next Month?". vibe.com. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  17. ^ "J. Cole". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  18. ^ "NEW VIDEO: J. COLE "INTRO"". RapRadar. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  19. ^ "J. Cole Announces 'Forest Hills Drive Tour'". Rap-Up. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  20. ^ "Urban/UAC Future Releases - R&B, Hip Hop, Release Schedule and Street Dates - ..." All Access. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  21. ^ "FreezePage". Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  22. ^ "J. Cole Gets Introspective In His "Apparently" Video: Watch - Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  23. ^ "J. Cole - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  24. ^ a b "Reviews for 2014 Forest Hills Drive by J. Cole - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  25. ^ a b David Jeffries. "2014 Forest Hills Drive - J. Cole - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  26. ^ JUSTIN CHARITY (December 9, 2014). ""'14 Adolescence: J. Cole Grows a Notch Taller on "2014 Forest Hills Drive""". Complex. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  27. ^ a b "J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  28. ^ a b "J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive". HipHopDX. December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  29. ^ a b Jenkins, Craig (December 11, 2014). "J. Cole: 2014 Forest Hills Drive". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  30. ^ L. Smith, Troy (December 8, 2014). "Honesty carries J. Cole on '2014 Forest Hills Drive' (album review)". The Plain Dealer. Advance Publications. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  31. ^ "J. Cole, '2014 Forest Hills Drive' Review". SPIN. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  32. ^ Martín Caballero (December 7, 2014). "Review: J. Cole's '2014 Forest Hills Drive'". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  33. ^ a b "J. Cole '2014 Forest Hill Drive' Review". XXL. Harris Publications. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  34. ^ Wood, Mikael (December 8, 2014). "J. Cole's '2014 Forest Hills Drive' hits authentic notes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ Goodman; Kristobak, Jessica; Ryan (15 December 2014). "The 23 Best Albums of 2014". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin. ""2014 Forest Hills Drive," J. Cole". bigstory.ap. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  37. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2014". Complex. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  38. ^ "HipHopDX's Top 25 Albums of 2014". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  39. ^ Sisario, Ben. "Billboard, Changing the Charts, Will Count Streaming Services". NYTimes. NYTimes. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  40. ^ HipHopDX (17 December 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: J. Cole, Eminem, PRhyme". HipHopDX.
  41. ^ "J. Cole's Big Week: A #1 Album, Huge Sales And Beating One Direction". MTV News. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  42. ^ Press, Associated. "Drake's Surprise Album Sets Spotify Records". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  43. ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: J. Cole's Trio of No. 1 Albums Puts Him in Elite Hip-Hop Company". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  44. ^ Balfour, Jay (2014-12-24). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, D'Angelo". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2014-12-24.
  45. ^ Balfour, Jay. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Fabolous". HipHopDX. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  46. ^ Balfour, Jay (2015-01-07). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Nicki Minaj, J. Cole & Iggy Azalea". HipHop DX. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
  47. ^ Balfour, Jay (January 14, 2015). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Nicki Minaj, J. Cole & Iggy Azalea". HipHopDX. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  48. ^ Harling, Danielle (February 2, 2015). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Ne-Yo, Pitbull & Joey Bada$$". HipHopDX. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  49. ^ Balfour, Jay. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Nicki Minaj, Kid Ink, Ne-Yo". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  50. ^ Balfour, Jay. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Drake, Nicki Minaj, J. Cole". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  51. ^ Balfour, Jay. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Drake, Nicki Minaj, J. Cole". Hiphopdx. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  52. ^ Balfour, Jay. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Big Sean, Drake, Chris Brown". Hiphopdx. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  53. ^ http://hitsdailydouble.com/building_album_chart
  54. ^ "2014 Forest Hills Drive - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  55. ^ "Australiancharts.com – J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
  56. ^ "J. Cole Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  57. ^ "Charts.nz – J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  58. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  59. ^ "J. Cole | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  60. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  61. ^ "J. Cole Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  62. ^ "J. Cole Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
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