Good live albums aren’t exactly common in Hip Hop. A rapper’s bursting energy and the crowd’s overflowing reaction don’t always transition well onto wax. J. Cole attempts the feat with Forest Hills Drive: Live–from his hometown of Fayetteville, NC–in which he raps his latest album, sans “Note to Self.” The show itself aired January 9 on HBO as Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming. The question remains: does it have universal appeal, or should it have stayed in his hometown?
A legitimate criticism that can be made of 2014 Forest Hills Drive, a strong album in its own right, is that it was too often subdued. This live album atones for such a flaw, sprucing up tracks including “January 28th” and “03’ Adolescence.” J. Cole does this not by changing the tempo of the songs but by rhyming with such force that his lyrics provoke strong and undeniable emotion. For instance, when J. Cole is rhyming about a friend schooling him on his own reality, followed by his own inner reaction, the words are intensified in a way they weren’t on the original version. “How you looking up to me when I look up to you/You ‘bout to go get a degree I’ma be stuck with two/choices either graduate to weight or selling number two/For what, a hundred bucks or two a week/Do you think that you would know what to do if you was me/I got four brothers, one mother that don’t love us/If they ain’t want us why the fuck they never wore rubbers?”
He lowers his voice when he rhymes about his admitted selfishness, “I felt ashamed to have ever complained/About my lack of gear and thought about how far we done came.”
His intensity ensures his passion sticks with the listener long after the song is over.
At times, he wisely doesn’t mess with his formula; “No Role Modelz” and “Love Yourz” mirror their original counterparts, allowing the rapper to take center stage for topical songs. However, there are times when alteration produces unfortunate results. “Wet Dreamz” surrenders its smoothness when he screams its lyrics. During the intermission, which offers a breath of fresh air for the audience, “Lights Please” benefits from a burst of energy followed by a quiet finish. However “In the Morning” and “Nobody’s Perfect” both relinquish their cool through hyped up renditions.
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J. Cole is also an artist who knows how to play to his audience. Often, he knows specifically when to let the crowd join in or rap a bar for him. His love for his city and his fans bleeds onto the album, from his lessons (“Happiness comes from love, not material possessions”), to his relatable humor (“I don’t know even know what the fuck LED lights mean, but I’m paying for them bitches”), to his raw honesty (“I don’t even know where the fuck St. Tropez is at”). He also adds brief narratives in between some of the songs for those who may have missed the finer points of his life story.
Sonically, DJ/Music Director DJ Dummy ensures the album doesn’t stray too far from the original, which is a good thing. It’s still elegant, with its beautiful strings, rain-drop piano keys and knocking drums intact. Ron Gilmore and Irvin Washington on the keyboards provide low-to-mid-tempo background music for J. Cole’s musings to the crowd. Occasionally, music is added to enhance the experience, such as the hyped up scratches on the blistering version of “Fire Squad.” Throughout, the music never gets lost in J. Cole’s liveliness or the audience’s energy.
With Forest Hills Drive: Live J. Cole has done what few rappers have been able to accomplish. He has bottled a full album concert that has added to the original’s excellence. Fans who were in attendance may enjoy it more than those listening on streaming sites, but the more emotion-driven tracks show off his his undeniable marketability to all.
