J. Cole: Cole World - The Sideline Story (2LP, reissue) [INTERSCOPE]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set spreads Cole's debut over four sides, closing with the bonus track "Work Out." It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 218,000 copies in its first week and went platinum.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Bonus track "Work Out"
• Pressed in the Czech Republic

About the album

J. Cole had been the first signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation and had three acclaimed mixtapes behind him, and still the debut album took the best part of four years to finish. Some of it dates back to 2007; most of it came together between 2009 and early 2011, with Cole producing nearly everything himself and No I.D. lending a hand.

The guest list is short and well chosen. Jay-Z turns up on "Mr. Nice Watch," Drake on "In the Morning," Trey Songz on the breezy "Can't Get Enough" and Missy Elliott on "Nobody's Perfect." Between the singles, "Lights Please," "Lost Ones" and "Never Told" show the storyteller he'd become, taking on family, relationships and growing up without a father, with the kind of candour that became his trademark.

"Dollar and a Dream III" carries on a mixtape series, "Sideline Story" spells out the title's idea of a player waiting for his chance, and the whole thing plays like a statement of intent. For a record subtitled The Sideline Story, it's a fairly emphatic way of getting off the bench.

Also at Kops: more J. Cole on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Dreamville / Roc Nation / Interscope, a reissue of the 2011 album.