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The eulogy from the end of Change leads itself into this really well. But James gets caught in the crossfire and dies from what he was trying to change. There is a lot of external forces causing blacks to be suppressed but there's also a lot of internal issues. His heart is filling up and he's feeling more love than he's ever felt before.Ĭhange - James begins to spread word that change can happen in the black community internally. 2 - James is having his child, Nina, and learning what the unconditional love of fatherhood feels like. Finding that life pre-For Whom the Bell Tolls is a lot better when you have someone that you love with you going through it together. James filled that hole by falling into the trap the crooked system set for him but pulls himself out of it by falling in love with a female human.įoldin Clothes - James is abandoning the gangster lifestyle to be with his girl. Like I mentioned, Cole believes self medication comes from a lack of love shown to addicts starting from a young age. He wants to live a long life with her and knows that can't happen if he continues the life of crime. Ville Mentality - James is wondering if he can go on as a criminal now that he has someone he loves so much. In KOD Cole even talks about how people who lack love feel the need to self medicate. He began to feel that void in his life being filled. He's found the woman he loves and that she loves him back. 1 - James fulfills what he thinks is his destiny and starts a relationship with the love of his life. He wants it more than anything but she's taken. It's a great song and sonically fits but has very little to do with the narrative unless you make tenuous links.ĭeja Vu - James finding the love of his dreams and believing he found destiny. This song is like the "Wake Me Up When September Ends" of this album. The arrogance shown ("motha fucka, I am") goes away after being caught and he's humbled a bit but feels empty. I know this song is about the police raiding Cole's crib in real life but it can apply to James falling into the trap the system set for him. Neighbors - Two options here: James starts to partake in illegal activities (selling dope) early in his life and is charged with 2 felonies, or setting up the rampant racism that follows people no matter how big they make it. He prays to the lord as he sees the storm coming, and knows he's running out of options. He wants something to change but the only place he can turn he crime.
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I went ahead and put it in chronological order of how the story goes.įor Whom the Bell Tolls - James (Cole's friend from the Ville that was renamed to protect his identity) is good at heart and doesn't want to be a criminal. Putting it in order makes the narrative clear, and makes listening to it a lot easier to follow.
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Putting some of the humor and lightheartedness that was in FHD would feel misplaced in this album. Looking back he was really hurt after losing whoever James was in real life. He even considered retirement before this album. Me and several of my friends didn't initially like it, but personally, I've come around to see Cole's vision. It's much, much darker than anything else he's done. People were expecting FHD 2.0 when this project was very different from anything Cole had done before. So I made a comment a few days ago that said I thought 4 Your Eyez Only would be considered a masterpiece if Cole had changed the tracklisting so the story and narrative were more obvious from the beginning.Īfter FHD, people weren't expecting an album that told one long, stoic story about someone Cole knew from the Ville.