why i think Change is J. Cole’s best song, a thread:

it fits so perfectly into the story of 4 Your Eyez Only

the entire song is a triple entendre. it was already known that it‘s a double entendre, however, what makes it interesting is the song released in 2016 and it took almost 4 years for the 3rd meaning to be figured out

on the surface level, its a continuation of the story of Cole’s friend, James McMillian Jr, who goes from selling crack, to falling in love and starting a family. in the song Change, two meanings can be attributed to, change through actions and the change in POV/narration

while Cole’s friend has fallen in love with his new life and accepted that his old ways are done, it ultimately was too late. the song also marks the death of James in the album’s story, narrated in the final moments of the track

here is the 3rd meaning. it was revealed recently that J. Cole is training for the NBA, and in an article Cole said he was planning on not making music after his previous album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and was actively training for the NBA before the creation of 4 Your Eyez Only

the whole album creates a lot of parallels in the life of James and Cole. in a way, Cole sees himself in James and reveals later he could have easily been in James’ situation himself. the song Change draws another parallel

while James realizes he is not happy in the ‘gang life’ anymore, he makes a change to become a family man

Cole realized he is no longer satisfied with just rapping, and wants to make a change to a life in the NBA. this was revealed in the song but nobody realized until now

to me, this makes the song Cole’s best conceptually. but there are a lot of other aspects that make it great. lyrically, Cole is in his peak on Change. he is one of the few artists who can be so great at lyrical rapping over softer, melodic beats while also rapping conceptually

while the song is lyrically and conceptually great, the production is also one of his best. he samples the drums of J Dilla’s African Rhymes, and puts it over a smooth jazz instrumental. this is supplemented by beautiful background vocals from Ari Lennox, and is sonically amazing

overall, this song sounds amazing and hits deep. Change is a perfect example of Cole’s best work in all aspects, and is without a doubt his best song to me.

hope you guys enjoyed this thread!