Music reviews: J. Cole and Jill Scott

‘The Fall-Off’ by J. Cole

★★

“In the thick of midlife, J. Cole is reflecting on the legacy he’ll leave,” said Rodney Carmichael in NPR.com. His latest release is “less concept album than epic conceit,” supposedly a final statement from a Fayetteville, N.C., rapper who, at 41, is playing at being “an old man, a new man, and everyman all at once.” He’s still confident of his membership in the Big Three, alongside Kendrick Lamar and Drake, as one of the great emcees of their era. Yet his attempt to present his as an everyman’s hip-hop journey falls flat, especially when he invokes a classic 1994 Common track with “I Love Her Again,” repeating Common’s “cringe” metaphor of rap as a woman who’s slept around. “The sheer sprawl of the record—24 tracks, 100 minutes—is daunting,” said Mark Richardson in The Wall Street Journal. Cole considers the first dozen songs a reflection on his rise, and the next dozen wisdom from an elder. “Bombs in the Ville/Hit the Gas” even imagines his older and younger selves linking on FaceTime. Despite some highlights and sharp writing, the album “starts to feel like a concluding montage that lasts just a bit too long.”

‘To Whom This May Concern’ by Jill Scott

★★★

Jill Scott’s first album in more than 10 years “pushes her adventurous
streak to the fore,” said Mosi Reeves in Rolling Stone. “Dabbling in everything from trip-hop to New Orleans rhythm & blues,” the 53-year-old neo-soul pioneer has made a record that might initially disappoint fans who expect more of Scott’s “babymaker R&B anthems.” But there are plenty of new treasures to admire, including “Liftin’ Me Up,” with its “bubbly go-go rhythm,” and “Norf Side,” which finds Scott capably trading rhymes with Tierra Whack over a beat by DJ Premier. “A portrait of a warmly familiar, complex, all-too-human artist,” the 19-track record rewards repeated listening. “If there’s one universal truth about Scott, it’s that she contains multitudes,” said Steven J. Horowitz in Variety. She’s both “brassy and contemplative” on To Whom This May Concern, at times sifting through the wreckage of two divorces, at other times finding love in unexpected places. She “pulls from all directions here—cocktail jazz, big band, cosmic R&B, even diva disco—yet it all feels distinctly Scott,” an “ever-evolving” artist who knows exactly who she is.