4 Your Eyez Only
J Cole is one of the most influential artists in today’s generation. J Cole’s mindset overall is different from any other artist in today’s generation, which leads him to create music that is unique and one of a kind. He talks about many different things, like the struggles to come up in the music industry ( Forest hill drive), violence that occurs in the hood and in everyday lives (KOD), and to love and heart break throughout relationships (Sparks will fly). J Cole’s music uses pathos to bring people in and open their eyes to see the world how he does, and he also uses ethos in his music because he talks about real life experiences that he lived through.
J Cole’s song “4 your eyez only” is a story of a man who is explaining to his daughter why he isn’t able to be there throughout her life. He goes into the struggles of growing up in the “hood” and what African American men are stereotyped into being. He talks about the struggles that come with getting into trouble early on in life and what you are tempted into doing. He apologizes for the things she will miss out on for not having a dad, and he also goes into talking about how he wishes he could start over and do right for her so that he could still be in her life. In life we are all faced with things that leave us questioning how we should handle or respond to them. Oftentimes we are left to look up to an adult and ask them for guidance. Having a positive role model in your life helps shape you into a good person overall. Having positive role models in my life has overall helped me make good decisions, and they have been able to give advice on how I should handle situations. I think it helps better shape everyone in most cases.
In his song “4 your eyez only” J Cole’s says a line “ I try to find employment even if it’s wiping toilets, but these felonies be making life the hardest, resisting the temptation to run up and swipe a wallet or run up on your yard, snatch your daughter bike and pawn it”. Society makes it too hard for anyone with a criminal past to get a good stable job. Instead of accepting that they are trying to change and better themselves. But they are the first ones to say something negative about them when they resort to their only option which is to steal to provide for themselves and their families. It’s very hard to be able to start your life again after coming out of prison. They say you’re out, but you’re never really out of the system. It’s set up for you to fail with all the rules of probation and the restrictions you get based on your charges. I understand some criminals deserve to have these restrictions but often times in minority communities young kids and adults are convicted on smaller crimes that often wouldn’t result in jail but they are put in juvenile centers and that starts the long life process of the system.
Another verse in the song states “I dedicate these words to you and all the other children, affected by the mass incarceration in this nation, that sent your pops to prison when he needed education”(AZlyrics). Mass incarceration is the shorthand for the fact that the U.S. incarcerates more people than any nation in the world, including China. Another thing that makes it worse is that blacks are incarcerated at a rate 10 times greater than that of whites, despite the fact that blacks and whites commit the same crimes at roughly the same rates. (Mass Incarceration)
J Cole also takes a hit at police brutality in this line “It’s several ways I could’ve went out, too many to count, was it the trigger happy crackers that the badges give clout”. Police have always had a way of going after African Americans. We have seen deaths like George Floyd and Briana Taylor when police took their lives for no reason at all. Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality can include things like beatings, shootings, and improper takedowns. (Police brutality). Police always find a way to be way more harsh on people of color and it’s not fair.
J Cole is a mastermind when it comes to writing a story, he puts it together in ways where once you understand him, you feel like you have a better understanding of the world. He give us a look into what African americans have to go through on a day to day bases to survive.
J cole overall is one of the best artist in today’s generation , they way he is able to continue to make good and relatable music throughout his whole career is only something a great artist can do. I encourage everyone to listen to a J cole song at some point he has a song for every situation.
