J. Cole What Dreams May Comes Tour Trailer

I've seen him live for his Dollar and a Dream show in NYC for his first album and he is great live.  I also saw him as an opening act for a Jay-Z Blueprint III tour and Drake's Club Paradise tour and while a lot of people have seen him as an opening act, he can definitely carry he own show.  Wale is great live too.  I saw him on his college tour with Big Sean and the Clipse in 2010 and he was great live.  Energy never diminished.  Tour dates for What Dream May Come Tour are here.

J. Cole Featuring Wale What Dreams May Come Tour Dates

 

Sept. 10 – Miami, FL – James L. Knight Center

Sept. 12 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live

Sept. 13 – Tampa, FL – David A. Straz Performing Arts Center

Sept. 14 – Jacksonville, FL – Moran Theater

Sept. 15 – Augusta, GA – William B. Bell Auditorium

Sept. 17 – Charlotte, NC – Halton Arena @ UNC Charlotte

Sept. 19 – St. Louis, MO – Fabulous Fox Theatre

Sept. 21 – Chicago, IL – Arie Crown Theatre

Sept. 24 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena @ Boston University

Sept. 25 – Philadelphia, PA – The MANN

Sept. 27 – Cleveland, OH – State Theatre

Sept. 29 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE

Oct. 2 – Norfolk, VA – Chrysler Hall

Oct. 4 – Atlanta, GA – The Fox Theatre Atlanta

Oct. 8 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall

Oct. 10 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple Theatre

Oct. 12 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom

Oct. 13 – St. Paul, MN – Myth

Oct. 15 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland by AMC

Oct. 17 – New Orleans, LA – Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena

Oct. 18 – Houston, TX – Reliant Arena

Oct. 19 – Austin, TX – Austin Music Hall

Oct. 20 – Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie

Oct. 22 – Broomfield, CO – 1st Bank Center

Oct. 25 – Las Vegas, NV – The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

Oct. 27 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre

Oct. 30 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre

J. Cole's Born Sinner becomes number 1 album during its 3rd week of release

When I first heard that J. Cole was moving up his release date to the same day as Kanye, I thought it

was a suicidal move.  We all know what happen when 50 Cent tried to do that in 2007 when Kanye released "Graduation" and 50 Cent released...does anyone even remember the name of that album?  Exactly.  All the coverage, not just the hip hop or music coverage of that week and the weeks leading up to it, would be focused on Kanye.  Why sacrifice a number 1 album, like he had with his debut album "Cole World: The Sideline Story?"
After thinking it through a bit more, releasing the album the same day as Kanye might be a better move then releasing it a week later like originally planned.  By releasing it the same day, people will be already be buying that genre of music and would see J. Cole and Kanye's album.  Also, it wouldn't be living in the shadows of of Kanye's record and be forgotten in the following week.  J. Cole addressed why he was releasing the song the same day as Kanye the same day in the song "Forbidden Fruit"

I'mma drop the album same day as Kanye
Just to show the boyz I'm the man now like Wanyá
And I don't mean no disrespect, I praise legends
But this what's next, the boy sick, can't disinfect

The Wanyá reference is a Boyz II Men reference, one of the singers from the group.  By dropping the day that same album as Kanye he is showing that he is an man and is ready for what is next.

When "Born Sinner" was released, it premiered behind Kanye and had the number 2 spot.  The following week it beat Kanye, who was number 3 but the newest release, Wale's "The Gifted" was number one.  This week, the third release of the album, J. Cole is number 1.  Albums usually debut at number 1 because that's when biggest sales tend to be.  However, J. Cole being number one its 3rd week reflects the strength of the album.  Word of mouth is the best advertising so people were obviously not disappointed in the album.  Also, by having the number one album in the country, it will lead to even more sales because of the prestige.  The hype will lead others to look into the album.

[Album Review] Born Sinner-J. Cole

J. Cole starts off the album letting us know "it's way darker this time,"  referring to the lighter fare of his debut album "Cole World: The Sideline Story."  Its a bit eerie, because "Cole World" had its dark moments, with subject like abortion, abandonment, and adultery.  How much darker can he get?
Well, he gets dark.  Pretty much pitch black. "Born Sinner" is the exploration of the sinners of the world, including himself.  One of the topics he focuses on is what he gave up to be successful.  Many of the songs focus on him making a deal with the devil to be successful and wanting his soul back.  For instance, he feels that he was a sellout by giving in to the pressure of making more radio friendly music, such as his single "Work Out." This especially hurt him when he found out that his idol, Nas, hated the song, which he discusses in "Let Nas Down." Other themes Cole explores is the temptation of cheating, with songs like "She Knows" and "Runaway," and materialism on "Chaining Day."
While the album is quite dark, a bright spot on the album is "Crooked Smile" featuring TLC, which talks about inner beauty and loving yourself.  Despite the dark tone, he is optimistic, with the song "Born Sinner" declarying in the chorus with James Fauntleroy that "I'm a born sinner, but I die better than that."
In the album opening track, "Villumanti" J. Cole announces:
"Sometimes I brag like Hov
Sometimes I'm real like Pac  
Sometimes I focus on the flow to show the skills I got
Sometimes I focus on the dough
Look at these bills I got  
This is a message for some rappers trying to steal my spot"

He does all of this on the album, while showing that all the time, he is real like Cole.

If you are a fan of J. Cole's mixtapes, you will like his return to his original style and message.  Its very reminiscent of "The Warm Up" but goes deeper.  If you also liked "Cole World: The Sideline Story" you will also love this album.  Its the best rap album since "good kid, m.A.A.d city." and will be a stand out album of the year.

Stand Out Tracks:
Villumanati, She Knows, Rich N*ggaz

[Lyric Limelight] J. Cole - Born Sinner - LAnd of The Snakes

"Now if you only had one wish is it devious?
Cause you already know who your genie is
Can't get a cover now your mag on my penis
Like damn he turned out to be a genius"

"LAnd of the Snakes," the 3rd Track on J. Cole's "Born Sinner" is about him experiencing the celebrity life in LA and encountering people with bad intentions.  It goes along with his self exploration of being a sinner by the story of running into a girl that he played in college.  The above bars stand out to me not only on this track, but also on the entire album because the rhyming scheme is ingenious and really shows his lyrical and delivery skills.

Cole Summer: Episode 2 Krispy Kreme

Hilarious.  And shout out to the 248 lol.  That's the Krispy Kreme right outside Oakland Mall.  Lol the girl had no idea who he was.

J. Cole to release Mixtape before Album "Cole World: The Sideline Story"

Cole Summer: Episode 1

J. Cole's Summer blog series

[New Music] Bei Maejor Feat. J.Cole "Trouble"

My alma mater, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, is a very school spirited too. While I've never been the crazy football fan, but I always get really excited when I see fellow alum following their dreams. That being said, I am a huge fan of Bei Maejor, and not only because he's a Michigan alumnus. He's an amazing artist and producer, producing for major artists like Trey Songz (ex: "Black Roses")and Keri Hilson (ex: "Buyou") just to name a few. He has also put out successful mixtapes including "Upside Down 1 and 2" and "Throwback." His new single "Trouble" features J. Cole, who he previously worked with on "Buyou." Its a great club R&B song that's extremely relatable about a situation many males have been in and many females knowingly put themselves in. I always love when singers are also producers and have total control of their work, so I'm excited for his future projects. You can listen to the song here.

"Who Dat" [Music Video]

I know I'm soooo late with this, just been busy.  But overall I'm impressed with this video.  I've known about J. Cole for about a year, but haven't seen any visuals from him other than the Simba video.  Much like the Simba video being a one cut journey, so is the Who Dat video.  However, in the video, we get to explore J. Cole turf in his eyes.  The band playing is from a local high school and the cheerleaders are from Fayetteville State University.  He actually caused some controversy because the school administrators did not appreciate their students being in a video with profanity and want it to be pulled.  Dude, its high school and college students they have heard worse.  Plus its edited on TV. And if you were so concerned, why didn't you listen to the song first? And honestly, being in this music video is the highlight of their marching band/cheerleading careers.  So there is no need to complain.  From where I'm standing, your grass is green.

What I do find funny about the video is that new rappers ALWAYS rap with their hands.  Drake is known for his oscillation, and J. Cole is not above it either. This trend in new rappers remind me of that scene from Talledega Nights where Ricky Bobby doesn't know what to do with his hands his first interview. Also, the little boy that is watching tv and follows J. Cole is wearing the same outfit he did in the Simba video.  Pretty sure that was on purpose.




Complex also did an article rating one take video.  Here's the link that includes the YouTube clips to the videos.

June 15th

June 15th is a big day for several reasons:

1. Most important, my baby sis (well, my only sister, but I call her Baby Sis) Morgan graduated middle school today.  It was crazy because I remember when she was 2 and I was graduating elementary school she walked to where all the graduates were sitting during the ceremony to be next to me.   It's just cute and I'm proud of her.

2.  Drake's album came out.  My mom was with me when I bought it and laughed at me because I was sooo excited when I picked it up because the first store didn't have it.  She was wondering why I bought it because I don't really own a CD player.  I explained to her even though I have the digital copy already on my computer, and I'm just going to convert the CD to digital for my iPod, that I had to buy it so I could be excited to have it in my hands and open it.  This of course brought upon an even stranger look but it was still fun to do and worth $9.99 at Target. Last CD I bought was Usher's "Here I Stand" on a whim about 2 years ago, and I actually love that album, maybe one of the reasons because I bought it.  It was so much fun peeling off the plastic, looking through the booklet, seeing the design of the cd.  Since everything is digital now, the artistry the album is often lost and it actually album artwork is a much as a statement about an album as the introduction is.  But that could be a whole  other post, which actually might be interesting to explore.
But it terms of the Drake album, since I've been looking forward to this forever and have avoided reviews of this album to make it pure, this is how I'm going to review it.  I will give it a first official listen and then write a review.  After reading links (but probably not reviews) about the album (there are a ton I want to read and post but that's not going to happen until later) and listen to the album for a couple of weeks I will review it again.  I'm doing this because I think the first listen is pretty raw and organic but after having an album as a companion for a couple of weeks you can really get a feel for the album.  So that's the plan.

3.  One year ago today, J.Cole dropped "The Warm Up."  He marked the occasion but actually writing in his blog http://dreamvillain.blogspot.com/ and leaking a freestyle "The Last Stretch" which I have yet to listen to.  It's been a crazy year for J. Cole and I feel like through all the craziness and the slow and steady rise to recognition, he has stayed humbled, focused, and maintained the quality of his work.  "The Warm Up" has been a companion of mine through some hard times this year which I appreciate.  It was also the first thing I wrote about in my blog, which you can read here.

So congrats to Morgan, Drake, and J. Cole.  Yep, they all can go in one sentence.

As for the video, here's a clip for Drake's MTV documentary "Better Than Good Enough"

MTV Shows

J.Cole x Complex: The June/July Fashion Feature

Here's a video of J.Cole fashion feature for complex, set to "Who Dat." This will have to do until the video comes out, which he filmed in his home town last month.

I always things men's fashion features are interesting, mostly because I hate when men don't dress well because its not that you have a lot of options, like females do.  Pants, top, and shoes, if you mess that up that's kinda sad.  Don't get too jazzy though. My personal recommendations, get your haircut every two weeks, use an iron, shower, and smell good. And remember, your shoes say a lot about you. It's actually one of the first things a lot of females notice about you.

"We On"-J. Cole

Random J. Cole track that he produced himself.  It was suppose to be on DJ Khaled Victory but didn't make the cut.  I think its a good track though

Click here to download via The Carter Cartel

And of course for the video: J. Cole interview from Rap-Up.com

"Who Dat" -J.Cole

I've been waiting since June 2009 for J.Cole to come out with an official single.  He's been pretty ambiguous about the progress of his album and always stated he would take his time and he didn't know a release date.  I'm all about the zen and respecting the artist's process.  But I am a music consumer that needs quality items pretty quickly, so waiting a year has made me pretty antsy.  This is the part where I would say something negative about the single, saying its watered down or too commercial. But I actually like it.  Its definitely not a mix tape song (like I talked about in my earlier post) but this is necessary for J. Cole to no longer be an underground artist.  The chorus  is catchy and I can already hear it playing loud in cars this summer.  Some of his lines are really catchy, but some of the most clever ones are too vulgar for me to type. As a female, maybe I should be offended but I'm not.  Some people are just like that. A great line that is less vulgar is "the mind state of a winner, when you are thinking about summertime, I'm thinking about winter. When you are thinking about breakfast I'm heating up my dinner, I was plotting this moment back when y'all was riding spinners."  He thinks of the craziest things and its like wooooow.

However, I'm not sure how everyone is going to like this song.  Its a tough time to be a new comer to the rap game since Drake is currently occupying the time share.  Actually, he bought the entire estate and any new comer might feel even less welcome then when Mike came to the Bahamas in Why did I get Married Too.  I'm just saying, Drake owns this right now, and with T.I. coming back with vengeance and Kanye coming out in September or November (this isn't the actual release date of his album, this is just what my friends and I forecast.  Yes, we sit around and forecast release dates and singles of albums.  Don't be jealous that you aren't apart of these conversations lol) J. Cole is going have to go extra hard to get any attention.  He seems hungry though, so I'm optimistic.

I also the single artwork.  It looks like his game plan to success, and includes lyrics to "The Warm Up."  I need a blackboard, it seems like all people on the verge of success write on a blackboard.  Like the guy on 500 Days of Summer.

Click here for J. Cole's first official single "Who Dat"

And since I hate posts with no video, here is J. Cole and Wale free styling at Denny's.  I actually hate Denny's...and Big Boy.  But this is entertaining none the less

The Come Up...The Warm Up...The Blow Up?

My cousin introduced me to J. Cole back in June 2009, at a time where I refuse to listen to anything other than Drake's So Far Gone. I was skeptical at first; sadly, as much as I consider myself to be a hip hop head, I need more than one person's stamp of approval before I listen to a mixtape. An album is different, its already got many people's thumbs up before it was even produced, but a mixtape is different. EVERYONE thinks they are a rapper (trust me, I went to a suburban Detroit high school where this boy would rap the morning announcement. Atrocious is an understatement). The MacBook is a gift and a curse, it gives really talented people a chance to produce their own music and get it out there without the help of the record company, but at the same time, it gives talentless people a chance to pollute cyberspace with their garbage.

However, after I reluctantly downloaded The Warm Up, J. Cole's second mixtape, I was pleasantly surprised. So Far Gone wasn't even played for a good month, which was pretty controversial amongst my friends. The Warm Up to me was a mix of social commentary and the personal experience of being one of few people going to college from his hometown in North Carolina. It was about the daily struggle, but also the rise that working very hard and following your genuine dream, not the 9-5 that is crammed into your head in college. The most relatable song is "Grown Simba" where J. Cole talks about how he can't wait to be king, but how it feels like to be a prince. Everyone can remember the Lion King and how Simba just wanted to make it. In retrospect, after graduating from college during a recession I can relate to this movie way more than when I was back in elementary school. "I Get Up" is my daily anthem. I can play this in any mood, good or bad, and I feel even more motivated. "Ladies" is a pretty clever song about females. Instead of the typical chick song asking me to be a freak in the sheets and the streets, the play on words in cute. My favorite line is "No chain around his neck, but better watch out for the charm." J. Cole is known for his play on words that you might not get the first time around but once you do, it puts a smile on your face. It seemed fitting the he did his own take on "Last Call" because he was signed for Roc Nation. He's story is interesting, using college to get him into rapping, and graduating Magna Cum Laude from St. John's University.

It was interesting to listen to his first mixtape 9 months later, The Come Up. I didn't really know what to expect at all, especially since he made it back in 2006. I also hate when every song has an introduction with DJ tags, which this mixtape is filled with. The common theme of The Come Up is man is college missing his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. In "School Daze" he reminiscences about high school, wishing he could go back to those days, but in "College Boy" he talks about how great college is. Cole frequently mentions how he wished other people from his area had the opportunity he had to go to college, but they weren't encourgaged to. The original version of some of the tracks from the Warm Up are on here, including Dollar and a Dream, Dead Presidents, and Simba. I feel like Simba is the best track on the album, and I love the visuals of the video he made for it.



The growth is evident from The Come Up to The Warm Up. He is more confident in his lyrics; he doesn't feel the need to say "get it" after every clever remark as he did in The Come Up. J. Cole social commentary/personal experience will make him a talked about rapper not only in the mainstream but in authentic hip hop culture (whatever that means these days). Lets just say, J. Cole doesn't dumb anything down to sale records.