J Cole has been in legacy mode lately. He launched the podcast Inevitable as a means of rehashing his monumental achievements in the rap game. He's been running through his run of mixtapes in the lead up to his final album, The Fall Off. The best part of this rollout, however, has been the fact that his mixtapes have been released to streaming platforms in conjunction with the podcast. The Come Up and The Warm Up were released, and now, Cole's mixtape opus, Friday Night Lights, is available.
Friday Night Lights remains one of the finest showcases of J Cole's career. It sees him produce the lion's share of songs, and elevate his rapping from the already elite level he was at on The Warm Up. "Back to the Topic" is a dense lyrical showcase, as is his nod to Kanye West, "Villematic." The collabs are sparse on here, but they are spectacular nonetheless. Wale delivers a show stopper of a verse on "You Got It," Omen sobers the listener up on "Enchanted." Most notable, however, is the classic Drake collab, "In the Morning." It was recycled for J Cole's major label debut, but hearing it now, with the context of the "Big Three" drama, it's a reminder of simpler times. Friday Night Lights remains a classic release for those who grew up on Datpiff. Now, it's available for all.
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J Cole's Third Mixtape Remains One Of His Best Releases
Friday Night Lights tracklist:
- Friday Night Lights
- Too Deep for the Intro
- Before I'm Gone
- Back to the Topic
- You Got It (featuring Wale)
- Villematic
- Enchanted (featuring Omen)
- Blow Up
- Higher
- In the Morning (featuring Drake)
- 2Face
- The Autograph
- Best Friend
- Cost Me a Lot
- Premeditated Murder
- Home for the Holidays
- Love Me Not
- See World
- Farewell