Oft positioned alongside Kendrick Lamar and Drake as a generational trifecta, Cole found himself looking more and more like a cult hero. Despite grappling with label-led image uncertainty or the pesky narrative of having “boring” content, the North Carolina lyricist remained secure in his spot as a new school great, a bastion of hope that bars could retain their prominence on a mainstream stage. ![]() The third studio album from the self-proclaimed “Middle Child,” Cole’s acclaimed project arrived on the heels of a divisive effort in Born Sinner that’s not to say the project was weak, but many felt it didn’t live up to Cole’s massive artistic potential. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive celebrates its fifth birthday today, it’s time to reflect on whether this truly is the “classic with no features.” Sometimes, an album’s quality is so contested at the moment that a foregone conclusion can only arrive with time’s passage. Others are studied and analyzed with a more scrutinous eye, held to a standard set by the aforementioned albums and their ilk. Some are as immediate as they are undeniable, like DMX’s It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot or Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter The 36 Chambers. And yet not every classic is created equal. For the most part, one is enough to clinch a spot in the hierarchy. Does he or she have a classic under his or her belt? More than one is an added bonus. In matters of GOAT discussion, a hip-hop artist is, perhaps unfairly, often held to simple criteria. ![]() Cole's third album celebrates five years.
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