J Cole has released 3 albums on popular streaming services in the past month.

This is a very big deal because most artists typically will not release more than one album a year. The main reasoning behind this is that they wait longer and tease the album for a long time to create “hype” and anticipation for the release. In turn, more people talk about the album, and more people end up listening. 

J Cole doesn’t care about that, apparently.

Even die-hard J Cole fans found out about these albums as soon as they were available. On smaller streaming platforms, like SoundCloud, all of these albums were available to listen to; however, they did not receive the recognition they now have. The main reason for this is that SoundCloud is usually not people’s first choice when choosing a streaming service because it does not offer the same variety of music as Spotify and Apple Music. 

For J Cole, this was a very smart move because it opened up the trilogy of albums to a whole new audience, many of whom are welcoming J Cole back to the rap scene.

The three albums are titled The Come Up, The Warm Up, and Friday Night Lights. They were put into services in that order. These are the first three albums that Cole ever put out for the public. Each album is a little bit different in the production style and lyrical meaning.

The Come Up is a fantastic album that kickstarts Cole’s career and gives people an idea of the kind of music he puts out. Cole comes out in this album with a raw and authentic sound to show everyone how hungry he is for success and how confident he is in his ability. The album is a blend of upbeat, fun music that showcases his sound. 

He also showcases his lyrical talent in many of his songs in a creative way. This is considered by fans like Saint Paul’s senior Blake Williams to be “His strongest quality in his songs.”

In some of the songs, Cole takes a deeper approach and discusses serious issues, as shown in Dead Presidents and Can’t Cry. On the contrary, some of the songs have a lighter meaning and reflect on the good and bad things that Cole did in his younger days.

Although the album is great, there are times when certain songs lack quality or sound a little unfinished. 

The Warm Up is the second album that was put out, and it does not disappoint. It is similar to his previous album in a lot of ways, but it sounds like it has been fixed up and finished off. What that means is that the production style, lyrics, and samples are all better than the first. Cole makes it quite obvious that he is trying to perfect his craft because the mistakes and things that just don’t sound quite right in The Come Up are cleaned up in this album. 

In this album Cole sounds like a more mature rapper. He focuses on more serious topics and raps about them in a way that people can relate to. For example, in I Get Up, he talks about the struggles of poverty and what it’s like living in lower-income areas.

Some of the different-sounding songs are catchy and creative, as in Dollar and a Dream II, Grown Simba, and Losing My Balance. 

The third album, Friday Night Lights, is considered by many to be one of Cole’s best albums ever.

Saint Paul’s senior, Koen Smith, agrees: “This album is more produced, and it feels like the songs have more honesty behind them.”

Many consider Friday Night Lights to be the Magnum Opus of J Cole’s mixtapes. This album contains some of Cole’s most introspective songs, which showcase his storytelling and lyrical abilities. 

The production style, which was mostly done by him alone, continued to get better and better throughout the three albums, peaking in this one. In addition to the deep-meaning songs, he also has fantastic freestyles that showcase his ability to be a lyricist even without writing the songs. With all this in consideration, it is no surprise that this album has been a fan favorite for years. 

This trilogy of mixtapes by J Cole is dripping with authentic raps and creative production. These three albums are what put J Cole on the map and gave people a look at what was to come.

My personal favorite of the three is The Warm Up because it is a perfect balance of the three albums. The Come Up is a more raw, new project that displays some of Cole’s most hungry and determined raps, but there are a lot of sub-par songs that just don’t live up to his quality.

Friday Night Lights is almost the complete opposite because it is a much more finished product that is a little bit slower and more focused on lyricism and storytelling. What makes The Warm Up so special to me is that it encapsulates both of those aspects and finds a balance of raw-sounding and smooth-sounding production and lyricism.

Because of the album drops, other fans who may be just starting to get into J Cole’s music have been given a chance to listen to some of his original albums, which many fans argue are some of his best.