AOTY 2014 Review - 2014 Forest Hills Drive - @JColeNC

It's December 2014. Time is winding down and my staff is getting our album of the year lists together and boom! J. Cole announces his album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive is dropping in two weeks.

No lead singles, no features and still went platinum. No one has been able to do that since Nas in the 90's. The hype for the Born Sinner follow up was immense. We only got a few loosies and give away a after that project. He then performs on Letterman and performs an impactful new song, Be Free. I think it was deep that he played this in light of what was going on rather than a single from his album on the Late Show.

Let's get into the music. The Intro reminds me of Be Free. Sonically the keys provide a similar ambiance and he beckons to his people with the same question, "Do you wanna be free?" It transitions to the official first track, January 28th. This serves as the musical introduction. Verse one tackles his growth in the industry, verse two goes full circle and how he's touched by what was going on in Ferguson, MO at the time. The meat of the album comes next. Wet Dreamz I remember talking about how he painted another story we could all relate to in losing our "V card" in high school. The story telling continues in 03' Adolescence. A Tale of 2 Citez is next. I love everything about this song musically and the delivery is perfect. The beat is boom-bap but still something gritty enough the trap lovers can get down with. His flow leading to and on the hook was so tough. I'd go to another Cole concert just to see this song performed live. I also love the choral singing the bridge at the outro with him, clever.

Fire Squad is another radio jam that gets deep in the third verse about white privilege in the hip-hop community. He even name drops Timberlake, Eminem, Iggy, and Macklemore. "All good jokes contain true sh*t," Indeed. I like what Logic had to say about it especially because like J. Cole he is the product of mulatto parents. St. Tropez is still in my rotation a year later. It uses the same sample Mobb Deep used from an old Ester Phillips song in 1971. This song changes the mood of the album, really smooth, really chill. His message is about climbing up in the industry comparing St Tropez, France to Hollywood, CA. This isn't the first time he voiced his opinion on how fake Los Angeles is, remember LAnd of the Snakes? The sound changes but the theme stays the same in G.O.M.D. I don't think I understood this until now as I type. He's always explained his concerns on the mainstream. He let Nas down to make a good record and get heard. Whenever he does that he refers to himself as Hollywood Cole as he does on this song. It's funny because it's an oxymoron. The song is definitely a radio hit and bouncy like Big Sean's IDFWU. Whether I was thinking too deep or it flew over my head it's genius. Even the video paints a tale of how the people react to his plans, this time in the 1800's. The lyrics just show a more arrogant Cole talking about commercial music. It's pretty deep. To fully understand I think he threw in a curve ball with the words "The make/break up." Listen again for yourself. No Role Modelz is another song about the women from the city of angels and how to handle them. It's simple, no one likes a captain save-a-hoe. The personification and tribute to James Avery from the fresh prince was dope. Especially thinking back to Breakdown on his first album. Fast forward to his first official single after the album dropped, Apparently. As far as production on the entire album, J. Cole really took a liking to playing the keys more than usual. Omen, Vinylz, Cardiak and others threw some assists in that aspect as well.

All in all as I think it takes a little bit of time to take Cole in. Everytime you listen you hear something you may have missed even if you know all the lyrics. Perhaps that's why last year Cole was our split decision AOTY winner. I just needed more time to really get it rather than the two weeks before year's end. It's funny because in that review I rated his album higher (4.79 of 5 Stars) than the actual winner. Before Forest Hills, I complained Cole was telling the same story. I'm mullato, I graduated, I want Jay's spot. I didn't realize it took all of those stories to continue painting the grand picture, and it's still being painted. First to third album he's really grown and the fans have right with him. I really believe if one sample didn't get cleared and the album dropped three weeks later, we'd have a different AOTY for 2015. I guess that's why it sparked the Kendrick/Cole argument we've had all year. Read the original AOTY 2014 Review here.

Watch: G.O.M.D - @JColeNC

Bruh the symbolism in the video is ridiculously dope.

I know on the AOTY review I assumed this was one of those Big Sean acronym tracks. Maybe I missed the message. In case you did too please watch this video for G.O.M.D by J. Cole below. Fire.

Editorial Review: #AOTY 2014 picks by @RamseySaidWHAT

Well, this has definitely without a doubt been the hardest year for me to write this review. Hip-Hop has been interesting to say the least this year. From January to December plenty of comercial music released and I didn't find myself listening to most of any of it (crazy coming from a hip-hop blogger huh?). The music I looked forward to got pushed back like Kendrick and Joey Bada$$. It's safe to say I spent this year listening to lots of music from 2013, and mixtapes. The only exceptions were the albums that made this list and a few that just missed getting on the list. 2014 was really a year for singles as well. Don't believe me? Do me a favor, turn on the radio and all you'll is Iggy or Chris Brown murdering the charts (from a jail cell for most of the summer, go figure). Back to the topic at hand, my peers made a lot of points in their reviews when they said the year was good not great. Niles respectively declined and said there were enough quality albums to compile a decent list. I also have to agree with him when he said rap's heavy hitters were absent this year, but when based on the criteria (lyrics, production, flow, popularity, sales, and uniqueness), only a few stood out in my eyes. Please remember this is an opinion piece and not just a list of favorites. Please don't murder me too bad. The good one is for tomorrow. Until then, My album of the year picks for 2014 is as follows.

Number Five: NehruvianDOOM - Bishop Nehru & MF DOOM

If you've ever read anything I've written, you know I love music that reminds me of childhood. The 80's and 90's. NehruvianDOOM is an album born during the wrong decade and I love it. The production was superb, well it's produced soley by DOOM himself. The only exception was a collaboration with his partner Madlib on Dangerous. Although being produced by a legend Bishop Nehru still shined and was far from upstaged by his elder-statesman.  It's nice to see such young talent emerging reminding us hip-hop is still a young man's game. Niles actually did a review on this one so for more click here. NehruvianDOOM gets a 3.89 of 5 on the Ramsey Rating Scale.

Number Four: Oxymoron - ScHoolboy Q

I have a lot of respect for this album. In what seemed like a very very off year for the genre ScHoolboy Q came with a bang. His album dropped in January. For him to be able to stand the test of 12 months and even make the list is very impressive. Until July, you couldn't tell me this wasn't the best album in 2014. On top of being the first in the genre to really drop a major LP he was the first in the TDE stable who promised albums from the entire clan. The first and the only one of them to make the list, sorry Soulo. I happened to be off work and was able to stream his album listener with Rosenberg the eve of the release date. That was the first time I heard the deluxe version including songs like Collard Greens with Kendrick Lamar, Studio featuring BJ the Chicago Kid, and Man of the Year. Break the Bank and Yay Yay spoke to the pusher man ScHoolboy Q really was for him and his family, more importantly his daughter Joy you can see on the album cover (much like The Game's). Oxymoron start to finish was remarkable and definitely deserved to make everyone's top 10 including my own. I rated this a 3.91 of 5 on the Ramsey Rating Scale.

Number Three: Nobody's Smiling - Common

This is where it got hard for me. 3 through one have been interchangeable until actually sitting down and writing this. Nobody's Smiling was the only thing in my ears through the summer as far as hip-hop goes (well Rae Sremmurd too cuz those kids turn up man). I was gonna cover this one but I let Niles bless us with this review as well which you can find here. Tracks that stood out to me were Kingdom, Real, and the self title. Kingdom features Vince Staples and a choral background on the beat. The duo trade verses about their respective cities of Chicago and Long Beach, CA. Real features Elijah Blake (who this time I actually did the review on) and is somewhat the climatic turning point of the album where it takes a brief turn. Blake lays down crooning but catchy vocals. I live by the beach. This was one of those "Roll down the window and feel the warm air on a July day while listening to this with your shawty riding shotgun" tracks.

Don't be confused, Nobody's Smiling was not a happy album. I found it very timely as it released a week before the murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson, MO. The self title was an ode to Chicago but not in a Homecoming Kanye sense. Common spoke about the things not talked about. What I liked most about that track was the spoken word piece by Malik Yusef at the end of the track. Nobody's Smiling recieves 4.3 stars on the Ramsey Rating Scale.

Number Two: 2014 Forest Hills Drive - J. Cole

This is for you Jermaine. You did the same thing Childish Gambino did last year with this December release thing. That left Glover with only a honorable mention last year. It's only right that Cole stops here. Just like Common, Forest Hills Drive was timely. Common got the initial murder, Cole got the indictment verdict. 2014 Forest Hills Drive makes my list because it came with no promotion, no singles, and was still arguably the emcee's best project in his impressive discography. As all Cole albums I find myself able to relate to him. He speaks to me in different ways. The frustration and longing for freedom in me was heard in the Intro and January 28th. "Do you wanna be, happy?" Reminiscing to my first time was Wet Dreamz "Cuz I aint never did this before." Wet Dreamz was a nice storyteller track. Simple boom bap beat that doesn't overshadow what he's saying. A Tale of 2 Citez is by far the hardest track on the album. Gritty beat, gritty bars, instant repeat. G.O.M.D. is another one of those acronym tracks kinda like IDFWU. That's all I have to say about that (Forest Gump voice*). 2014 Forest Hills Drive was my favorite album this year. Perhaps if it were out longer and the initial buzz wore off I could rate it fairly with the rest. Because of that, I have to stop you there (again). Cole World huh? 2014 Forest Hills Drive gets 4.79 on the Ramsey Rating Scale.

Number One: Under Pressure - Logic

I can't believe all of the other contributors to the site missed this one. Under Pressure was dope through and through. Frankly, I'm tired of everyone sleeping on Young Sinatra. He's been around for awhile and just now made the XXL Freshman list this past year. On top of the Editor's (me) nod on the AOTY list, iTunes also voted him as the best hip-hop album in 2014 as well. And no it's not cuz his skin pale because he still won't sell like Eminem or Adele (get it?). To the point. Under Pressure was fuego, the one fire album no one listened to. The self title track was my favorite for three reasons. One, it was self produced and done with such flare. Two was the video. The visual was insane and shot like it was a first person shooter. Three, flow. He engaged you with all of the before mentioned things but when you listen to what he said and how it was delivered it was nuts. Other impressive tracks were Driving Miss Daisy featuring Childish Gambino and Buried Alive. Under Pressure was different and equally amazing considering it was a debut album. Not a ton of features so you really see what Logic can bring to the table. I gave Under Pressure 4.71 on the Ramsey Rating Scale. It scores less than Forest Hills Drive but I believe it was still the better album of the two, how's that for an Oxymoron and I'm not talking ScHoolboy (okay the puns are corny).

I said before I started writing this was difficult to judge this year. It was hard to leave out Nicki Minaj and Ab Soul off my AOTY list. I also struggled leaving Anomaly by Lacrae off as a crossover album. I generally hate Christian Rap. I love Gospel, I love hip-hop. I separate church and state (literally). Isaiah Rashaad also impressed with his Cilvia Demo towards the top of the year but couldn't hang with the rest. Those are my picks, hope you enjoyed reading. Keep listening mates.

Royal Throne: #AOTY 2014 by @AQueens_Crown

2014 has got to be the  hardest year of my life this far. It just drained me emotional, and spiritual but I managed to make it out alright. Only because of my love music and the energy it provides me. With that being said it was a weird year for hip-hop. With artist albums leaking weeks before the release date, resulting in a lack of sales for a lot of artist. In 2014 only one album went platinum and is was Taylor Swift's 1989 selling 1.2 million in its first week . The music industry has taken a major hit in revenue sales due to these leaked albums. Even so this was a pretty dry year for hip-hop albums in my opinion. Here is my top five best albums of the year.  


5) YG - My Krazy Life

When I heard YG was dropping an album I thought great another piece of trash is being dropped. Boy was I wrong. I loved it and was so surprised. I really liked that is was a story being told in this album about his life living in Compton.  YG's MY Krazy Life made my list of top five for the fact that I played this album a lot when it came out. My favorite tracks are Bicken Back Being Bool, and Left, Right. I know there was a lot of hype around him this year. Hopefully  he continues to live up to it.

4) Nicki Minaj - Pink Print 
I was honestly surprised to actually like this album. I have never been a fan of her music before because of all that pop music crap, but after hearing a couple tracks I was impressed. I really like the track with Meek Mill on it Buy a Heart and Feeling Myself . You can really tell she bared her soul with this album. Talking about the death of her cousin, and the hopes of having a child in the near future. Now I'm not saying I'm a Barbs, but the Pink Print will not get skipped when it comes on. 

3) Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron

You can't tell me that anyone listened to Q's without feeling like a baller futuristic groovy gansta with an attitude. Within it's first week Oxymoron debuted at number one on Billboard's list. That helped earn a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. One of my favorite songs is Prescription/Oxymoron. You can really hear his struggle with drug addiction. That's something you don't hear about from most rappres these days. Instead most brag about it as if its something to be proud of. Afterwards you get haunting vibes from What They Want making me feel like no one can touch me.

2) Childish Gambino - STN MTN / Kauai
I loved this dual sided concept album. Upon first hearing about it I thought it would be an extension of Because the Internet. I was nicely surprised it wasn't. I wrote more about it in my review of the project here.

1) J.Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive

As far as numbers goes this album did really well in the first week considering that he didn't drop a single or do promotion tour. The album itself is a great piece of work. He spoke on a variety of subjects. I really liked this album for the main fact that I agreed with what he spoke about. From the racial tension in hip-hop today, when you have "rappers" like Iggy Azalea doing a terrible job of respecting  hip-hop culture. Making lame pop hits claiming its hip-hop then being rewarded for it. How love is all that really matters. Love for your family, for your friends. We get caught up in the capitalist system of thinking that money will make us happy. So we spend all our time trying to get money only to realize that it can't make us happy. He had a great interview with Angie Martinez on Power 105.1 FM talking all about the capitalistic system we live in, as well as the state of the black man in America. If you haven't given it a listen you can check it out below.

Album of the Year 2014 by @Best_ofda_Worst

2014 was kind of a disappointing year in hip-hop to me. Most albums ranged this year were just OK you know good enough to listen to but not enough to love. However few did stand out and a gem popped up towards the end of this year. Most other albums were just eehhh. I liked Schoolboy Q's Oxymoron, I liked Rick Ross' Mastermind but I didn't love it actually after buying those albums I had this feeling of maybe I shouldn't have made such an impulsive buy. That's coming from a fan of their music. Wiz Khalifa's Blacc Hollywood was dope. If this was a top six review, my list would've definitely been different. Other than Blacc Hollywood, here is my list of albums that was then best of 2014. I ranked these albums according to their content and how they stood out from competition.

Number Five: YG - My Krazy Life

Listening to this album for some reason makes you do strange things. You twist your fingers and do the best you can to make up signs from gangs and block you have no knowledge of, you use strange terminology that might be dangerous around the wrong people. You blast it at loud volumes. At the light you feel embarrassed when an older person pulls up next to you when they hear the lyrics (okay maybe you don't).

This album takes you through the life of a gang-banging burglar. For some songs you feel like you're a blood, others you feel as though you're tip toeing in someone's house looking for anything valuable and easy to snatch up. YG was able to make one feel his lyrics and present to you what it's like to walk in his shoes as a Tree Top Piru Blood member. I give this album 2.99 of 5 stars. The lyrics are simple, but did its job of introducing who he is and forces you to feel and love Compton from his eyes.

Number Four: Nicki Minaj - The Pink Print

I'm happy for Nicki. I remember "Starships Nicki" and hated her, but looking at her now I can understand why she did that. She had to play that role to get herself a big enough name. As a female and an MC (who can actually spit), who's actually better than a lot of her male counterparts she had to dumb it down for people. Now with a solidified fan base she has broken all boundaries and stands out as one of the best rappers of this time. In her album she opens up and expressed a Nicki we may not have known about her before. It's an emotional album. I don't want to give away too much so you're just gonna have to listen for yourself. With The Pink Print I can confidently say that Nicki Minaj is the Queen of Hip-Hop and shaping out to be like Beyonce as far as hip-hop greatness goes. She is a master of her craft and loved on a worldwide level and I'm glad to see that happen. Rating 3 of 5 stars.

Number Three: The Game - Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf 

This is your typical Game album. By typical I mean no restraints on what he says. All raw, unapologetic lyrics. If you've listened to the previous albums you know exactly what I'm talking about. This is a good buy (yes I said buy, purchase, you get the drift) and worth the listen if you get a chance. He gives you both sides of hip-hop. There's a couple of deep songs here and there, a couple of turn up have a good time songs, and the nitty gritty pure rap. Game doesn't disappoint 3 of 5 stars.

Number Two: Young Jeezy - Seen it All

Wanna know why I love hip-hop so much? What other genre of music do you have entrepreneurs who talk to you about how they started from humble beginnings? What they did with resources they had available to them? Against all odds they still made it to the top and became millionaires. Seen it All is that album. It is a how to and self motivation album. Jeezy has really lived up to the names of many previous album titles. He is a Thug's Motivation. He's The Street Dream. From start to finish the message could be heard over and over again. "If I can do it so can you," proof of this especially in the song Enough encouraging the listener that hard work one can achieve greatness. This album as far as content goes speaks to the fire in everyone that refuses to give up. That is the same fire that drives you to get yours. I give Seen it All 3.89 of 5 stars.

Number One: J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive

"Do you wanna be happy?" My number one spot has to go to Forest Hills Drive. This album is a classic! I wish I heard this album when I was in my teens. It speaks to me in so many ways. I haven't related so much to an album. It's almost as if Cole was telling my story (well, not exactly though). I goes from regretting not being a better son to his parents to how he lost his virginity. Another song he explained how he wished to live a life like his homie, who in turn envied his own life. 2014 was really a year of content. I've heard better bars from Cole on previous projects but the message in each song far surpassed anythinghe dropped thusfar. I give this album 4.5 of 5 stars as the best 2014 had to offer. This is the classic that everyone needs to hear. Alright, stop reading and listen to the album. Thank Me afterwards.Thank me afterwards.

Watch: Apparently - @JColeNC

In the middle of writing WTM's AOTY review, J. Cole has the nerve to do December album.

I had problems with Gambino doing that last year and it only got him an honorable mention in the two weeks of listening. I'm not saying anything but Cole might just do better. Listen to the album on your own to determine that. In the meantime listen to his new video for Apparently off 2014 Forest Hills Drive which is stores now.