No this is not a song. Instead it’s a whole album a day early. Cole World. The Sideline Story is set to come out tomorrow. However, it leaked last week and thanks to wonderful technology we can hit you off with the whole album.

I have personally been waiting for this record for quite some time. I truly got excited about it when I first head “Who Dat.” This record, Jay-Z, and J-Cole will come under lots of scrutiny by many ears. J Cole was Jay-Z’s first signee to his label Roc Nation back in 2009. As the first person signed by the great Mr. Z expectations were astronomical. To put it in a sports reference imagine if Lebron or Kobe were starting their own basketball team and the first person they chose was J-Cole. That’s a lot of pressure. People were expecting an album right away and they waited, and waited, and waited and were forced to make due with a single here, and a verse on someone else’s song there. (He absolutely killed it on Wale’s “Beautiful Bliss.”)

While hindsight is 20-20 Jay and J’s unconventional road to The Sideline makes nothing but perfect sense when looking at the two men behind the project. J-Cole or Jermaine Lamarr Cole as his parents know him, is anything but your typical artist. Born in Germany and graduating magna cum laude from St. John’s university he moved to NYC because he thought that is where he needed to be to be successful in music. Mr. Sean Carter had pressure on him as well because if his hand picked label mate released something weak then the can-do-no-wrong Z has a strike against him. It was in everyones interest to sit down, take their sweet time, and get it right. Of course as time builds so does pressure and that bar just keeps on rising. Isn’t that right Dre?

I’m not a reviewer and I’m not Pitchfork. There are plenty of those. Yet, I can’t think this album will be anything less than very good. There are to many excellent creative people behind the project with to much at stake to let it. Below you will simply find the leaked track “Mr. Nice Watch” featuring Sean Carter himself along with the single “Can’t Get Enough” and Cole World. The Sideline Story in its entirety.

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