J. Cole - 4 Your Eyez Only (December 9, 2016) Album • Page 3

Grantland Shea > Ringer Shea

On topic, I'm fairly neutral on J Cole as it is, but the album didn't grab me like Forest Hills did, but I'll have to give it a few more spins

 

the ringer neutered everyone
shea is still great though

 

Agreed, I like Shea, but I think the frequency that he contributes to the Ringer has turned me off to him some. I feel like he had one piece a week on Grantland that I always looked forward too. Now, it seems like he's published more on the Ringer, which is great, just tired me out on his style I suppose.

The articles of him coaching the school teams were the best.

 

i just bought the rap yearbook yesterday

 

I like this on first listen. I thought Cole was talking about himself on some songs, but he's clearly talking about his friend on others. Is there some double narrative, or is it all about his friend? Either way, I'm digging this. Folding Clothes is my least fav, but I think it works in the context of the album. Change, Neighbors, and the closer are my favorites.

 

I know the whole sleep thing is a meme and all but wow this album is genuinely making me tired

 

The Ringer has some great pieces. Sam Donsky was writing for them pretty regularly but stopped recently. Idk why

 

I like The Ringer for the most part but the site does carry a somewhat arrogant attitude.

 

donsky always seemed like a second rate shea serrano though, same style but definitely not as good

 

He's a film critic?

 

I like Simmons overall, but I think this stems from him. The guy developed a bit of a holier than thou attitude over the last few years.

 

But you get articles like this:https://theringer.com/madison-squar...once-taylor-swift-jerry-seinfeld-34350fb07860

just stylistically he feels a lot like shea at times

 

simmons is a moron who sucks

 

This was a good read

The follow up article is kind of dumb.

Like we get it, you don't like J Cole. Plenty of people do and like Spo had said, he is inspirational towards lots of younger kids. Idk he's not the greatest but it all feels silly to me

 

But yes I will agree that Bill Simmons is an annoying homer chowderhead

 

i dont get this specific line of thinking. who cares if he's inspirational or w/e to kids? we arent those kids, they arent here, we arent attacking them, etc etc. something being enjoyed by other people isn't a good reason to not critique it

 

That's fair, but I wouldn't call most of the shitting on J. Cole on this forum "critiquing"

 

And that is true that he's not exempt from criticism; I haven't listened to anything since his second album since I thought it was a snooze. Just the fact that there are multiple pieces from different writers with the basic premise of "why do people like J Cole???" is strange to me. The Ringer piece feels like it sets out to invalidate people who cant quantify why exactly they like him. There's a difference between art critique and an inability to cope with why people enjoy an artist.

 

because people who like j cole tweet inane stupid shit like this

and then talk about how smart his lyrics are or w/e but cant actually express anythign about his music beyond vague statements about it being good. the problem isn't even necessarily j. cole it's that a huge swathe of his fanbase is fucking annoying.

 

Yeah I mean dude's corny as hell and he's absolutely not immune to anything, my point was that outside of our bubble of white dudes making fun of his music, he is doing positive things for a lot of kids. In the context of me saying it I believe the discussion was not a "critique"

 

Isnt that tweet more of a reference to how "platinum w/ no features" became a meme of sorts? Thought that album went platinum in 2015. Every large artist has annoying stans.

 

That tweet seems more like a joke to me than "insane stupid shit." The whole "double platinum w/ no features" is definitely a meme now, right?

 

he can be doing lots of positive things for kids, thats fine, i get it, but i see the dude get clowned on by people of color constantly on twitter. it isnt just some "bubble of white dudes"

 

the platinum with no features thing is a meme now...making fun of people like the tweet i posted...who were the ones that originated it...

 

pretty much!