COMM 445 - Newsletter #6

J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive is more than just a personal album; it’s reflective of numerous industrial shifts that challenged traditional production and distribution strategies of hip-hop music at the time. The album’s creation and initial rollout were heavily influenced by several changes within the music industry, such as the evolution of production trends, the growing prominence of streaming platforms, and the steady decline of traditional marketing strategies. By challenging many of the conventional production and distribution tactics of the music industry, 2014 Forest Hills Drive emphasizes the importance of artistic expression, individual talent, and staying true to the genre’s origins.

Released during an era when hip-hop production was heavily saturated with electronic soundscapes, collaborations with pop artists, and trap beats, 2014 Forest Hills Drive was a refreshing return to hip-hop’s roots. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, the music industry saw a growing number of producers (notably Pharrell Williams and Benny Blanco) achieving commercial success by mass-producing beats for mainstream artists that incorporated the industry’s trending sounds. However, Cole opts for a more soulful, self-produced approach to the album, taking inspiration from those he idolized growing up while criticizing the industry’s reliance on ghost writers and trending producers to make hit songs. In an interview with The Smoking Section in 2010, Cole discusses his respect and admiration for old-school hip-hop artists, including Nas and J Dilla, as well as their ability to self-produce larger projects to such a detailed degree. Cole’s decision to be heavily involved in the stylistic production process of 2014 Forest Hills Drive implies an increasing demand for authenticity and creative freedom, which Cole addresses in “G.O.M.D.”, saying “I wanna go back to Jermaine and I don’t tell nobody”. These statements emphasize Cole’s belief that commercialized, trend-focused production tarnishes the artistic value, history, and potential of hip-hop as a genre.

Cole’s ability to create a cohesive project that utilizes sounds characteristic of both old-school and modern hip-hop is further highlighted by the album’s complete lack of features, which is a rare sight in any era of hip-hop. While hip-hop albums tend to include a diverse set of features to fill in where the lead artist wouldn’t fit, Cole demonstrates a broader understanding of the relationship between production and songwriting by filling in these gaps himself. In an interview with Tavis Smiley, Cole states that the hip-hop genre has massive amounts of potential, calling it the “purest art form”. He argues that features and collaborations cause the evolution of the industry to become stagnant, instead suggesting that competition between hip-hop artists pushes the genre to its fullest potential by forcing artists to improve and grow. By rejecting the collaborative nature of the industry, Cole shifts the narrative towards showcasing individual talent and evolving the industry by competing with other artists for dominance.

Beyond Cole’s unconventional production strategies, the rollout of 2014 Forest Hills Drive involved very little paratextual evidence of its upcoming release. The entirety of the album was released on streaming services with no leading singles and scarce teaser content to prepare fans for the album’s debut. This was uncommon for the hip-hop industry, as many artists took to social media, magazines, and other media platforms to promote their upcoming or released projects, pushing fans to purchase physical and digital copies instead of streaming. However, Cole’s decision to release minimal promotional content ahead of the album’s release, as well as his choice to primarily release the album on streaming services, was an intentional shift away from mainstream distribution tactics. The album’s surprise release onto streaming services is representative of Cole’s ideology that music should be made for artistic or personal reasons, rather than publicity or sales. Distributing the album without any leading singles challenged the industry’s trend of releasing non-sequential, hit-focused albums. By excluding leading singles and creating a personal story that progresses sequentially with each song, 2014 Forest Hills Drive’s distribution strategy allowed the album’s narrative aspects -- and thus the album’s overall message -- to be better received by the audience, influencing a cultural and industrial shift towards authentic and intimate projects.

2014 Forest Hills Drive’s success can be attributed to its unconventional creation and delivery, which pioneered shifts in the production and distribution of hip-hop music. Cole’s intention was to “break the chains and change minds, one verse at a time” (Fire Squad), rejecting the commercial values and conventional practices of the industry while advocating for artistic expression and individual talent. 2014 Forest Hills Drive stands as one of the most impactful entries in the modern hip-hop era, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the industry while staying true to the artistic and cultural roots of hip-hop music. Ultimately, the album is reflective of an industrial shift from the pursuit of commercial success to embracing artistic expression, authenticity, and individual talent, which has drastically reshaped the values and landscape of the music industry today.