J.Cole’s album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, both challenged and surprised me. Initially, it was difficult to understand what Cole was going through as our lives contrast so much. For example, in “Adolescence ‘03” Cole considers selling drugs because that’s what everyone around him was doing. Personally, it was hard to relate as I’ve grown up in a safe environment where drug influence is less prominent. Additionally, I was surprised by the lucidness of the album, as Cole gives full disclosure of everything he went through, especially in “No Role Modelz”. I was mesmerized by Cole’s blatant honesty about how he lacked a father figure, but still couldn’t relate to it. I then realized that I needed to understand where Cole was coming from in order
