Just My Thoughts #2: J. Cole's Feature Run in 2018 / What to expect in 2019...

2018 has been a pretty interesting year for J. Cole so far. In April, he released his fifth album KOD, which was a message against drug use and addiction. From August to October (which was just last month), he toured in support of the album, and Young Thug being a headliner wasn't something most people would have EVER expected, especially with Cole's fanbase being against most new school rappers and this whole so-called "mumble rap" shit. But we're not here to talk about all that. We're here to talk about Cole's features.

Cole has been on a great feature run so far this year, and it seems like he's not stopping... that is, probably until the year ends, of course. It's actually been so interesting to see. The North Carolina rapper started off his 2018 appearances with "Zendaya", a highlight off fellow Dreamville label mate Cozz's album Effected. But it wasn't until his guest verse on Royce da 5'9"'s "Boblo Boat" single, where more people started to catch on to how hungry Cole has been sounding lately. But then KOD dropped. While many enjoyed the album, I personally thought it was OK. While the anti-drug message was actually executed in a decent way (and not too forced and preachy), the first half was pretty forgettable, outside of "ATM", but it did manage to pick up during the second half, with songs like "Once an Addict (Interlude)" and "Window Pain (Outro)" being very strong moments on the album. Anyway, Cole still remained hungry on his features, delivering great verses on songs including "My Boy (Freestyle)" with Wale, "Tribe" with Bas and recently, "Off Deez" with his Dreamville label mate J.I.D. Even just yesterday, he had guest verses on Anderson .Paak's new album Oxnard ("Trippy") and Mike WiLL Made It's Creed II soundtrack ("Shea Butter Baby" with Ari Lennox), and both verses were great.

This year has come across a bit different for Cole right now. He's been known in the past to deliver on features way better than on his own work, on songs such as Bas' "Night Job", Drake's "Jodeci Freestyle" and Jeezy's "American Dream". Hell, even loose tracks from last year such as "Everybody Dies" and "High for Hours" shitted over his last album 4 Your Eyez Only. But this consistency does show a bit more hunger in Cole than we've seen in the past, and it's definitely more reminiscent of the Warm Up and Friday Night Lights days. For the first time in a while, Cole's consistently rapping like he got something to prove and he wants to fully come for the crown, for real this time. It's definitely the best year Cole has had so far lyrically. Not only have the features been more consistent than usual, but he has announced not one but TWO projects that will likely be set for a 2019 release date.
The Fall Off was originally revealed as Cole's upcoming sixth album during the release of KOD back in April, but with the surprise release of the "Album of the Year" freestyle in August, Cole announced another project called The Off Season, likely a prelude to the former album, and Lord knows whether it's going to be a mixtape, EP or an actual album. But one thing to notice about that "Album of the Year" freestyle is Cole's confidence and hunger. Outside of songs like "Fire Squad", and recently the title track on KOD, that showcase Cole in a more aggressive manner, majority of his music is very introspective, with a lot of social commentary. Obviously, KOD is a prime example of this, with its anti-drug content. But with that album off Cole's chest now, that album outro, "1985" (the intro to The Fall Off) and the "Album of the Year" freestyle definitely does prepare us for something way different in the future.

According to his Billboard interview back in September, J. Cole apparently plans to do less touring so that he can work on not only The Off Season and The Fall Off, but a Kill Edward project. Kill Edward was his deep voiced alter ego on the KOD album, and I don't think anybody asked for an album from that guy, but it's whatever. No matter how long Cole takes to work on those three projects, I do hope for him to keep this same energy throughout, especially on The Off Season and The Fall Off. The funny thing is that just last week, he quietly made a playlist on Spotify called "Where the f*** is The Off Season?", which showcases almost all of his recent features so far, along with the loose tracks he dropped from 2016-17. This playlist definitely does tease this idea of Cole rapping with more hunger and keeping that same guest feature energy. Furthermore, while I do like Cole's music, I always thought a problem with him was replay value. I've struggled overtime to revisit a lot of his projects, even the great ones such as 2014 Forest Hills Drive. So hopefully, I expect Cole not only to come with the bars on this project, but also maybe some more memorable tracks than usual, because both Cole World and 4 Your Eyez Only were real forgettable to me, even the first half of KOD too.

Another one of the problems I also have with Cole is that he has hardly used production from outside producers, it has mainly just Cole himself or those in his Dreamville crew including Elite and Ron Gilmore. And don't get me wrong, some of that production be hitting, especially songs like "Rise and Shine", "St. Tropez" and "Once an Addict (Interlude)", but a lot of times, it definitely does affect the replay value a bit on his projects. Cole using more external production from people like Jake One, Sounwave, Boi-1da, No ID, maybe even more obscure production from those like The Alchemist, would definitely be interesting to hear on a full-length project. I've always wanted him to work with 9th Wonder, and I'm not just talking the features like Wale's "Rather Be With You" or Rapsody's "Sojourner". Considering they're both from North Carolina, I'm surprised we've never heard something from those two (although they were meant to do a soundtrack for NBA Elite 11 back in 2010, but we never saw that soundtrack, and that game got cancelled for Xbox 360 and PS3). So that's definitely something I'd like to hear one of these days. It doesn't even have to be those producers, but it would be nice to hear more outside production on a Cole project, instead of just 95% him and his Dreamville production guys, and then the other 5% is one or two outside beats. AND CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE GET THIS GUY TO PUT FEATURES ON HIS NEXT PROJECT? Not saying he can't hold his own on albums at all, but clearly he's been on another level lately when he's paired up with other rappers, and I need that same feature energy I've been getting from him this year. Plus, the no features shtick has been getting old since you lot turned that whole "platinum with no features" shit into such an annoying meme, ha!

Anyway, enough talking about the shit that I want on these projects (Off Season in particular). I'm not the biggest Cole fan, he ain't really one of my favourite rappers, and even in his great mixtape days and even some of his recent moments, he has shown off a lot of corniness, being known for having so many bars about shit; and even making songs about folding clothes. But it's been so interesting to hear his features lately, and even revisiting projects like Friday Night Lights, that all of a sudden, I'm actually anticipating the direction he might go with The Off Season and The Fall Off. When he's in the zone (outside of the bars about shit), he can snap and really hold his own against even some of my favourite rappers, I'll admit; and hopefully, we can get some of that aggressive and confident energy on these next projects. Cole needs to improve his discography a bit, and it might be a breath of fresh air to hear him take another direction outside of introspection and social commentary on another mixtape, EP or a full-length album. That's just me though.

YGTUT - $ave It

Released: August 21 - September 27, 2018

Back in December, I reviewed YGTUT's last project Supa. It was supposed to be the follow up to his 2015 debut mixtape Preacher's Son, and was released in October on the low. But TUT unfortunately ended up removing it from iTunes and streaming services like nothing happened.

Fast forward to this August, and all of a sudden, YGTUT dropped a surprise project on us via SoundCloud. $ave It technically serves as the Chattanooga rapper's third overall project. According to YGTUT himself, the project is dubbed as a "playlist", as it was just a little prelude he decided to make for fun as he works on both his upcoming EP and full-length project. It's been a whole 3 years since we got a full and refreshing body of work, and although everybody's sick of waiting, with most probably forgetting about him these days, $ave It does work as a nice, fun project full of bangers and chill vibes, along with a bit of motivation and introspection.

The Chattanooga rapper updated this playlist a bit frequently overtime, dropping a few songs on a particular day from August 21 to September 27; and this was exactly what I was hoping. I would've been gutted if all TUT was gonna serve us was just 4 tracks, especially after a lot of fans have been waiting on way more than that. Instead, we got 9 tracks, most of which ride so smoothly. There is hardly any bad track on the $ave It playlist (apart from maybe one though), and the replay value is pretty high. While it's not the very introspective and vulnerable project that Preacher's Son was, you have to keep in mind this ain't a proper full-length project that follows up that tape; and it still serves as a very fun and comfortable listen.
You got the smooth soulful joints, such as "Do What I Do" and "Project Pat (Don't Do Drugs)", which have such banging beats behind the mellow samples. The former track still remains one of my favourite songs from the year, and I've had it on repeat since it dropped. "Cent$" is definitely the most aggressive track on the playlist, and it works so well for gym sessions. It's your usual "if it ain't about the money" type track that gets you pumping. Plus, TUT's flow is hella nice on that song. "Late" was released on the final batch of songs (produced by Ducko McFli) added to the playlist, and it's another one of the smooth joints to vibe out and smoke to like the former tracks, "Do What I Do" and "Project Pat". It's definitely one of the weaker moments to me, but I still enjoy it a bit.

However, $ave It doesn't only just work as your average fun project full of bangers, there's also a bit of reflection and life lessons sprinkled here and there, and this is definitely something that can interest those that have been fiending for more vulnerable tracks from the rapper, like on his last project Preacher's Son. "Loyalty 2 da Fam" was on the second batch of songs added to the playlist, where TUT touches on fake friends and dealing with self-love, while advising listeners to be cautious and watch out for who you hang out with. In my opinion, "Faded Again" is one of TUT's most vulnerable moments so far in his career, music wise, as he goes deep into using weed as a coping mechanism, dealing with stress & overthinking, and his grandmother not being in contact with him too much these days. It's definitely a strong moment on the playlist. The last track; "Top of the World (White Heat)" ends off the playlist nicely, TUT delivers a great one-verse, before stopping to leave the rest of the bars for his next full-length. It's definitely a solid moment on the playlist, and sets up the mood for whatever he got next in store.

With 11 tracks and an overall runtime of 34 minutes, the $ave It playlist does a nice job holding fans over until his full-length. It's been almost 4 years since his last proper project, and it's so refreshing to finally get a nice, fun little project for us to vibe out to, instead of just any new random loosies released here and there on SoundCloud, which we'll likely forget the next day. This playlist has been on rotation since it dropped, and it's definitely not a project to sleep on, especially for you lot that have been patiently waiting on new music from YGTUT. There's a song for everyone, whether it's for when you're in a smoking mood, working out in the gym or just taking time to reflect. It might not be the full-length project we've been asking for, but hey, new music is always appreciated, especially if it's actually fire!

Recommended Tracks: "Do What I Do", "Cent$", "Project Pat (Don't Do Drugs)", "Loyalty 2 da Fam", "Just Ridin'"