(Photo By Google Images)
2014 Forest Hills Drive (iTunes)
First, congratulations to J. Cole for scanning a million albums with his 2014 Forest Hills Drive project. Also, congrats on being the first rapper in 25 years to reach this feat without any guest appearances on the album. So with that said, this leads me to his newest video for his “G.O.M.D.” single. The video takes place during the slavery era, with Cole portraying a house slave (light-skin Blacks worked in the house, while dark-skin Blacks worked in the fields). He gets no respect from the field slaves, because he seems favored by their master. During dinner, Cole grabs the keys to the gun cabinet. This starts a rebellion from the slaves, who Cole leads into a takeover of the master’s home.
I truly thought the concept of the video was pure brilliance. And dealing with the racial climate that we are currently in, Cole’s timing couldn’t be better. What’s even better is that each verse matched perfectly with the scene. For example, the first verse is about a community not accepting him, i.e. the field slaves shunning him. It’s great to see an artist, especially a rapper, progress so naturally. Cole is on his way to being one of the greats. If he continues to stay consistent, his legacy will be cemented and “G.O.M.D.” would be the video that helped lead the way. –Pooh Bailey
