J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only is a documentary directed by J. Cole and Scott Lazer, and produced by Cole, Tim Grant, Ibrahim Hamad and Adam Roy Rodney. It premiered on April 15, 2017 on HBO.[1]
| J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | J. Cole Scott Lazer |
| Starring | J. Cole |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Tim Grant Jermaine Cole (exec.) Ibrahim Hamad (exec.) Adam Roy Rodney (exec.) |
| Cinematography | Isiah Donté Lee |
| Running time | 49 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Release | April 15, 2017 |
Premise
editIncorporating music from the album 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole captured stories of residents in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Atlanta, Georgia, Ferguson, Missouri, his father's hometown, Jonesboro, Arkansas and his hometown, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Entertainment Weekly reported, "The documentary promises to illustrate how their struggles over viable housing, voting laws for felons, integration, and more mirror the frustrations felt across the nation."[2] The documentary included security camera footage of a SWAT raid that took place on March 18, 2016 at Cole's North Carolina home studio, which served as inspiration for the track "Neighbors".[3] Cole also previewed new music in the documentary.[4] Cole spoke about the documentary with The New York Times saying:
I felt like it would be mad powerful for black people to see black people talking to each other. And you see a rapper who’s considered one of the biggest in the game, just listening. These are people that never get to be heard, by the world or even by each other. That lack of representation can lead to potentially catastrophic misunderstandings.[5]
Release
editOn March 24, 2017 HBO announced their second documentary with Cole titled, J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only, following Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming in 2016. he documentary aired April 15, 2017 on HBO and HBO Now.[6] The documentary was exclusively screened at the Troxy in London on April 19, 2017.[7] On May 1, 2017 the film was uploaded on Dreamville's YouTube channel.[8]
Reception
editCritical response
editWriting for Billboard, J'na Jefferson praised the film saying it "brings black perseverance to the forefront".[9]
Accolades
edit| Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| NAMIC Vision Awards[10] | Original Movie or Special | Nominated |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Platon, Adelle. "Watch J. Cole's HBO Documentary '4 Your Eyez Only'". Billboard.
- ^ Romano, Nick (March 24, 2017). "HBO announces second J. Cole documentary coming in April". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ Smith, Trevor (April 16, 2017). "Watch Footage Of Raid On J. Cole's Home Studio That Inspired "Neighbors"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- ^ Espinoza, Joshua (April 15, 2017). "J. Cole Previews New Music in '4 Your Eyez Only' Documentary on HBO". Complex. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (April 14, 2017). "J. Cole, the Platinum Rap Dissident, Steps Back From the Spotlight". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (24 March 2017). "J. Cole Announces New HBO Documentary 4 Your Eyez Only". Pitchfork.
- ^ Tipple, Ben (April 12, 2017). "J. Cole announces exclusive 4 Your Eyez Only screening". Ticketmaster Blog. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- ^ Dreamville (May 1, 2017). "J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only - a Dreamville film". YouTube. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ J'na, Jefferson (April 16, 2017). "J. Cole's HBO Documentary Brings Black Perseverance to the Forefront". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "22ND ANNUAL NAMIC VISION AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED" (PDF). August 3, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 19, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2019.