Ironically, by the end of the song, James has lost his life and the perspective reverts to Cole. James conducts his business and justifies it by saying that he needs to survive. James talks about how change must come from within and continues the narrative. When going further down, James tries to avoid the guilt he faces by saying that God would understand why he commits the morally wrong actions he does. The elements discussed in Immortal - such as glorifying the life of James - is quickly torn down by the track “Change” which is once again told through the perspective of James, who begins the song by comforting himself with the idea of better days. This jagged-transitioning track showcases what exactly makes “4 Your Eyez Only” distinctive and album exclusive to J. Set once again to the rattly drum machine, and intermittent, staccato bass, “Deja Vu” soaks itself in mellowness, and quiet, and giving itself the tone of lost romance and solitude. James reminiscences and soliloquizes a former romance, and takes a peers introspectively and dwells on the issues eating way at him. Here the character of James and the subject matter take on a romantically-tinged, poetic aspect. Cole flows particularly hard on the track, quickly painting a romanticized harshness of the life of James, and revealing the course of the album and the (loose) plotline, yelling “Real n****s don’t die, / Forward with the plot,” doing his best to cement his reputation as cold, hard and uninterested to what he perceives as death and weakness of the individuals that surround him.Ĭrystallizing the stylistic elements of Cole’s rapping and and the concept of the album in itself, “Deja Vu” announces itself with a chorus of “ Aye, put a finger in the sky if you want it, n***a, / Aye, put two fingers in the sky if you want her,” and launches into a soliloquy set against a rattling drum machine. Cole operates using an interesting tactic many of the songs are told through the perspective of James. “Immortals” opens with a soulful, anguished moan, and immediately leaps into bar after bar of the glamorized grit and toughness of the protagonist and narrator of the album: James, Cole’s friend. Cole gives us some of his finest lines the album, while crystallizing the nuanced and tortured vision of the album. What truly defines this album, however, are the tracks “Immortals” and “Deja Vu.” Here J. It brings a grandiose vision and fears and angst that permeates the entire album, one of death, and inner fears, and nearly seamlessly transitions into expansion of this vision, and solidifies it, portraying the best of Cole and “4 Your Eyez Only.” “For Whom The Bell Tolls” represents the album as the whole, painting a rainy picture with an ethereal, glass-like instrumental, and muted, funk-like trumpets. In a period where rap has created masterpieces drawing from other genres, Cole follows suite with a album of his own, remaining distinctive and personal. Weaving together a tale of repressed emotions, love, fear, frustration, and ego with intriguing lyrics and a slurry smooth flow, Cole crafts a steady, yet innovative continuation of his previous work.
Cole capitalizes on the distinctive elements of his last album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and constructs an introspective, jazz-laden, heavy concept-album.