i always think it is off top of my head but it was actually a loosie

later for fhd anni release it was revealed to originally be for it, but the re-release left it off again (only 1 missing)

would be top 3 on fhd and it along with dot's alright are like the last major political songs to go really mainstream n have real world affect, anyone know why it was just a loosie in the end?

the tracklist with be free

reddit.com/r/Jcole/comments/1gzznqh/unreleased_2014_fhd

the anni re-release

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Forest_Hills_Drive

posted this at the same time of a j cole hate thread, pack it up op

u right, my b fam, back to the scheduled program

op got 0 motion

Be free was truly legendary when it dropped

It would be my 1st JCole thread ever that flops the hardest 😔😔✌️

2nd j Cole thread technically

I made a thread back in like Covid that Jake one revealed that the beat for Mo Money on Born Sinner was originally given to Drake

the live performance version with the exclusive rap verses went diamond

Another interesting tidbit of the tracklist is that Jan28th and the intro were one full track and that Fire Squad wasn't made/listed yet

Only differences + Be Free set for it, all the other leftover tracks released for the anniversary that were covered up line up n what we got minus be free

intro n jan split up, fire squad n be free with leftover tracks equals "full/true" fhd

Great song

fav cole era

born sinner + truly yours era in 2nd place

Why was j Cole really good at composing great songs in that era? Who was cooking with him?
Cause some verses on the fall off are f***ing insane but the compositions are lackluster and underwhelming

he did most of them himself, most of the leftovers too like this 1 that should have def been there day 1 n my fav off the anni

the strings so good and the song is fully fleshed out as appose to sumn like miles from the anni

that other version of the tracklist was so all over the place

definitely prefer the condensed version we got compared to that but a version with all the songs reordered a bit would've worked too

@op

I remember when Cole said he originally wanted "2014 Forest Hills Drive" to be a double album, but he had to trim down a lot of tracks due to politics and whatnot.

So i'm assuming that "Be Free" was one of the songs that he had to cut from the final version of the album. Dope song though.

Agreed overall - i think the tracklist might be the order they made the songs tho, not an actual ordered tracklist, which means Fire Squad was potentially the last song made n why it's the only one not listed

Although I def think Winter Wonderland, Judgement Day and Die Together should have def made the final + Be Free - n be a cool 16 or 17 track album

Obviously and Keep Heaven Dancing would have been dope n perfect as bonus tracks

Then leave off the songs that are more middle of the road n not fleshed out with Miles, Black Man in Hollywood and Home Soon which would have been a cool lil anni package later

Ahh that makes sense with all the leftover tracks that then got released on anni version

Legit might have been one of the best double albums if a few of the leftover tracks got a bit more worked on, it's also funny cuz only one song has an actual feature, Mile with Bone Thugs, but it feels like the most unfinished song that wasn't fleshed out while most of them feel fully done besides one or two others

At least he was able to get Be Free out on its own, but it def would have been dope to go along with the one or two other really singing songs like Apparently

At least we got that double album version now and most of the songs imo are really good with 3 of them should have def made the final along with Be Free - very dope tho

hm i see where you're coming from but i know that cole's had wet dreamz since 08/09. but yea also weird for intro to have been intended at #7

Yeah that's also what made me think it's listed in terms of creation (or concept) because he already planned the intro+jan28th full version as the intro itself already originally

But Wet Dreamz could have been in a different form, like how Kanye has a few songs on his mixtapes that got changed later for his first 3 albums like Homecoming on Grad has the same concept and verses of the old mixtape version just re recorded, then a diff hook (plus obv the feat) and beat - could be sumn like that

Yeah I think some artists just sometimes be in "That" zone and never truly manage to get back in it! Like i was relistening to Kendrick stuff Damn Era and that guy just couldn't miss! Ultra Instinct Goku level s***

He didn’t wanna take advantage of the Michael Brown killing by throwing it on his album

I never even knew there was a studio version, that letterman performance is one of his best moments period