"4 Your Eyez Only"
Gang violence is an issue that corrupts much of our culture as Americans. J. Cole is a rapper from Fayetteville, North Carolina and speaks on this issue along with many others that affect the black community. His music is deeply introspective and relates heavily to his youth and experience growing up in North Carolina and living there as a young adult. On J.Coles 4th studio album "4 your Eyez Only" he poetically tells the story of "James"-a name given to the character used to represent one of J.Cole's friends that tragically passed away-as he navigates fatherhood. Cole uses the rhetorical device of narrative immersion and a series of vivid, intimate storytelling techniques on the track sharing the album's title "4 your Eyez Only" in order to convey a somber message about the issues affecting loved ones around him.
The song is structured as a three part narrative journey: the confession, the cycle, and the testament. The track starts with James detailing his struggle to financially provide for his newborn daughter. The raw desperation of the lyrics builds pathos and makes the audience connect to James. The opening verse goes over how James feels that he was forced to give up on his dreams in order to survive and how his life selling drugs has slowed down with a surplus of police on the streets. The verse ends with James explaining his desire to create something to leave behind for his daughter saying "If the pressure gets too much for me to take and I break, play this tape for my daughter and let her know my life is on it"(J.Cole). This line acts as a narrative hook, clarifying to the audience that they are listening to a last will and testament not just a song.
The second verse acts as the beginning of the tape being left behind for his daughter. James uses his storytelling to analyze his own trauma, aiming immediately to point out the cycle that exists inside of his chosen life and console his daughter left behind by saying "So I can be part of your still, my pops was killed too, so I know how a part of you feels. Maybe you hate me, Maybe you miss me, Maybe you spite me. Life goes in cycles maybe you'll date a n**** just like me"(J.Cole). By utilizing this cycle of violence narrative, Cole engages the audience's empathy rather than judging James' actions, demonstrating his "show don't tell" approach to his rhetoric.
In verse 3, James dives into the issue that he feels he's running out of time. His daughter is still young and he doesn't believe he could leave her this lesson yet. The song's slow jazz heavy production acts as a stylistic choice that forces the listener to sit with the agonizing tension. Verse 4 signals a dramatic shift in perspective where the song is no longer continued by James but instead is taken over by J.Cole who comforts James' daughter left behind. This shift acts as the final rhetorical move shifting from a first person confession to a third person eulogy, forcing the audience to process the loss of the storyteller they have been listening to for the duration of the song.
J.Cole adds his testimony about James and consoles the daughter by using repetition of the line "Not because he" and listing achievements that the streets and would celebrate finally ending with "Your daddy was a real n**** 'cuz he loved you"(J.Cole). This line is the rhetorical climax, redefining the narrative of "a real n**" from one of violence to one of love and fatherhood.
J.Cole uses the entirety of the song's near 9 minute run time to emotionally connect with the audience so that the final verse leaves a lasting impression. The entire album has been building to this song and J.Coles allows the audience time to empathize with different facets of James' story. He does this by appealing to universal feelings of struggle and love. By the time the song reaches the final verse the audience is truly captivated and understands the love James has for his daughter and the regret he has for due to J.Cole's detailed story telling and vivid imagery. J.Cole uses lines like "At a glance, I'm a failure Addicted to pushing paraphernalia But Daddy had dreams once, my eyes had a gleam once Innocence disappeared by the age of eight years"(J.Cole) to show this regretful nature about the appearance he will give off to his daughter if his message isn't delivered. The audience can feel the desperation that James has to give this tape to his daughter and to finish it. J.Cole absolutely convinces the audience that the key to James' personal absolution is the passing down of this record. To reveal then that James did not live to finish the song with the line"This perspective is a real one, another lost Ville son"(J.Cole) makes the song feel truly tragic. Transforming the track from mere music into a plea for understanding of the "human side" of those often vilified in American media