J. Cole has fixated on the idea of peaking with 2014 Forest Hills Drive for a long time now. He even admitted that everything after the album and leading up to The Fall-Off was just practice. As a result, he’s gone back and forth on the concept of retiring, ultimately settling for a middle ground. He won’t fixate so much on telling his narrative again. “Ima rap probably, I’ll hop on a song probably, I might even f**k around if I get inspired enough, I may do an album,” Cole said. “But I don’t care to continue that story.”
As much as it might come off as extreme pressure, J. Cole argued quite the opposite. In a 2021 interview with SLAM Magazine, he admitted that getting 2014 Forest Hills Drive off his chest actually alleviated a lot of stress and pressure. Beforehand, Cole dedicated himself to being a careerist, and there were beats he needed to hit in his career. But after the smash hit album, he finally allowed himself to indulge in mundanity. He could play video games or watch TV without feeling like he was wasting time for once.
‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’ Finally Allowed J. Cole to Relax
“After [2014] Forest Hills Drive, [that] was the first time I ever got that feeling,” he says. “It was after I got off tour, and I could breathe. I was like, ‘Damn,’” J. Cole sighed in relief. “For the first time, I felt comfortable in a good way. I allowed myself to just chill, watch TV, play video games. Simple s*** that n****s do, but I don’t do. S*** that before I wouldn’t allow myself to do, because it was like, ‘Yo, I got way bigger s*** to do, way bigger fish to fry.’ I wouldn’t even give myself the pass of watching a whole [TV] series.”
After embarking on the massive tour supporting the album, returning home grounded J. Cole. However, once he settled into his groove, a nagging question kept pestering him: Now what? “I gave myself that time,” he told SLAM. “And with that time came thoughts, very comfortable thoughts of like, ‘Yo, you kind of got to where you always wanted to be. Now what?’”
Initially, the thought of retiring happened then and there. However, ultimately, J. Cole felt like he was leaving something on the table. “And when I asked that question, it was strictly from an ability standpoint, a fulfillment standpoint. Like, did you max out your skill? Did you max out your abilities, or did you leave s*** on the table in terms of pushing yourself? And at that time, I remember feeling like, ‘No, no, you didn’t.’ The truth was very clear,” Cole added.
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