J Cole KOD

It's solid, if a little underwhelming given the hype surrounding it. Cole does a solid job furthering his role alongside Kendrick Lamar as being the new baton carriers for conscious rap with OutKast being gone (I've given up all hope on André 3000 ever releasing an album) and Kanye's music taking on a new direction following the VMA incident. However, out of all those names I just listed, Cole is easily the weakest in terms of putting all his ideas together in a cohesive and insightful way. KOD has some great sentiments in trying to steer people away from the current Xanax-heavy trap rap scene, emphasizing the personal self-destruction that can come at a cost of that kind of lifestyle, but Cole's sometimes lackluster production and his difficulties with coming up with a greater context for what we're seeing in the current culture leave his warnings feeling half-baked at times. Not to mention his greater political talking points with regards to stuff like taxes are cartoonishly absolutist.

At its high points, Cole does a wonderful job balancing genuine compassion within his cautionary tales to make it come off as almost therapeutic, like he's talking directly to an addict about their struggles (best displayed in "1985") but then half of it sounds like simplistic preaching from a self-righteous guy who doesn't know entirely what he's talking about. I think he'd be well-served by opening himself up more to collaboration so other artists can help him take his conscious ideas and present them in new and interesting directions.