Eyez

Last updated
Eyez
Directed byScott Lazer
Produced by Jermaine Cole (exec.)
Ibrahim Hamad (exec.)
Adam Roy Rodney (exec.)
Starring J. Cole
Ibrahim Hamad
Distributed by Dreamville Films
Release date
  • December 2, 2016 (2016-12-02)
Running time
40 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Eyez is a documentary based on the creation and recording of J. Cole's fourth studio album, 4 Your Eyez Only . [1] The film was directed by Scott Lazer, and produced by J. Cole, Ibrahim Hamad and Adam Roy Rodney. It premiered on December 2, 2016 on Tidal. [2]

Contents

Premise

The documentary was filmed at Electric Lady Studios in New York City over the summer of 2016, where sessions of the album were recorded. [3] The studio was built by Jimi Hendrix before his death in 1970. Throughout the documentary, J. Cole and his team are captured engaging, brainstorming and recording. [4] Sessions in the studio included musicians playing and recording the Hammond organ, trumpet, bass, and background vocals, while Cole lays down main vocal tracks. Cole explained his goals for the album in a scene saying "You get to this level of platform; the next one might go down. You're never guaranteed to be this high again. So while I'm here, let me use this opportunity to say the realest shit I've ever said." [5] Director Scott Lazer spoke in an interview saying the documentary provides a "fly on the wall" experience saying:

I just pitched to Cole and his manager Ibraham. I said, I’ve been kind of shooting these long shots. Some of the shots I would hold the camera as long as two or three hours you know. [...] The idea was to provide the idea behind the idea. It was coming from me feeling like I was in a very privileged position of getting to watch Cole and these other amazing musicians work, and discuss what they were doing in great detail with a lot of thoughtfulness. It seemed like people would like to have this perspective. And by having those long uninterrupted shots, it created a sort of immersive experience for the viewer. [6]

Release

On December 2, 2016, Cole released the 40-minute documentary, titled Eyez. [7] It was released exclusively on Tidal for three days until December 5, when it was made available on Dreamville's YouTube channel. [8] [9] The documentary also features two music videos for the tracks "False Prophets" and "Everybody Dies". Both videos were directed by Lazer who said, "I remember thinking when I was putting this together and I don't know if people beyond Cole's core fan base are really going to enjoy this. I think what the music videos did was give something for people who may not be really into it." [10] [6]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the documentary film. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

J. Cole German-American rapper (born 1985)

Jermaine Lamarr Cole is a German-American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and professional basketball player for the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He is regarded as one of the most influential rappers of his generation. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up, in early 2007. Intent on further pursuing a musical career, he went on to release two additional mixtapes, The Warm Up (2009) and Friday Night Lights (2010) both to critical acclaim, after signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint in 2009.

Dreamville Records American record label

Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas, Ari Lennox, Cozz, Omen, Lute, JID, EarthGang, and Cole himself. Dreamville also houses American record producers Elite, Ron Gilmore, and Cedric Brown.

Bas (rapper) American rapper from New York

Abbas Hamad, better known by his stage name Bas, is an American rapper. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records via Interscope Records. His first studio album Last Winter, was released on April 29, 2014, followed by his second studio album, Too High to Riot, which was released on March 4, 2016. Bas' third album, Milky Way, was released on August 24, 2018.

Cozz American rapper

Cody Rashad Osagie,, better known by his stage name Cozz, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He is signed to J. Cole's label Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. His debut studio album Cozz & Effect, was released on October 3, 2014.

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Too High to Riot is the second studio album by Sudanese rapper Bas. It was released on March 4, 2016, by Dreamville Records and Interscope Records. The album sold 8,065 copies in its first week, debuting at number 49 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Ari Lennox American R&B singer

Courtney Shanade Salter, known professionally as Ari Lennox, is an American R&B singer from NW Washington, D.C. She is the first female artist to be signed to J. Cole's record label, Dreamville Records. She first began gaining recognition after the release of her first EP Pho (2016) on the label. Her debut studio album Shea Butter Baby followed in 2019. Lennox has also been featured on the Dreamville compilation albums Revenge of the Dreamers II (2015), and Revenge of the Dreamers III (2019), the latter of which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and earned Lennox a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. Lennox made her debut appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 with her 2021 single "Pressure", peaking at number 66.

Luther Nicholson, better known by his stage name Lute, is an American rapper. He is signed to J. Cole's Dreamville Records. He released his first mixtape, West1996, on February 22, 2012. His debut album, West1996 pt. 2, was released on September 29, 2017. His second album, Gold Mouf, was released on October 4, 2021.

<i>4 Your Eyez Only</i> 2016 studio album by J. Cole

4 Your Eyez Only is the fourth studio album by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records. The album was Cole's first release with Interscope—his previous albums were released by Columbia Records. 4 Your Eyez Only was released exactly two years after Cole's previous studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

Everybody Dies (song) 2016 single by J. Cole

"Everybody Dies" is a single by American rapper J. Cole, released on December 5, 2016 along with his single "False Prophets". The two songs were previously previewed on the documentary Eyez.

False Prophets (song) 2016 single by J. Cole

"False Prophets" is a single by American rapper J. Cole, released on December 5, 2016 along with his single "Everybody Dies". The two songs were previewed in the documentary Eyez.

"Change" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, released on December 9, 2016 from his fourth studio album, 4 Your Eyez Only.

"Neighbors" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, released on December 9, 2016, recorded for his fourth studio album, 4 Your Eyez Only. It was released on April 25, 2017, as the second single off the album.

<i>Revenge of the Dreamers III</i> 2019 compilation album by Dreamville

Revenge of the Dreamers III is the third compilation album by American record label Dreamville, released on July 5, 2019, by Dreamville and Interscope Records.

Down Bad 2019 single by Dreamville

"Down Bad" is a song by American record label Dreamville, featuring J. Cole, JID, Bas, EarthGang, and Young Nudy, released on June 12, 2019 alongside "Got Me" as the second single from Dreamville's 2019 compilation album, Revenge of the Dreamers III.

Dreamville Presents: REVENGE is a documentary based on creation and recording of the compilation album Revenge of the Dreamers III. It was released on July 2, 2019 by Dreamville, to YouTube.

"Under the Sun" is a song by record label Dreamville Records with American rappers J. Cole and Lute featuring DaBaby. It also has extra vocals from Kendrick Lamar, who raps the short two-lined chorus of the song. The song was released as the first track on the label's album, Revenge of the Dreamers III. DaBaby received praise for his guest verse, with Billboard,Complex and HotNewHipHop all ranking it as his best feature of 2019.

"Sacrifices" is a song by record label Dreamville with American rappers EarthGang and J. Cole featuring Smino and Saba. The song was released as the final track on the label's compilation album, Revenge of the Dreamers III.

<i>J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only</i> 2017 documentary directed by J. Cole

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.

Dreamville Ventures is an American multi-disciplinary media company co-founded by J. Cole and Ibrahim "Ib" Hamad in 2020. It is a parent company to Dreamville Studios, which was also launched in 2020.

Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary is a documentary film based on creation of J. Cole's sixth studio album The Off-Season. It was released on May 10, 2021 by Dreamville on YouTube. It was directed by Dreamville Ventures' in-house director Scott Lazer, and produced by Tripp Kramer and David Peters.

References

  1. ↑ Thompson, Desire. "Ahead Of His 'Surprise' Album, J.Cole Drops 'Eyez' Documentary". Vibe. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  2. ↑ Kelley, Seth. "J. Cole Releases Surprise Documentary 'Eyez' on Tidal (Watch)". Variety. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  3. ↑ Diep, Eric (December 2, 2016). "14 Things We Learned from J. Cole's Eyez Documentary". Complex . Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Here's Everything You Need to Know About J. Cole's '4 Your Eyez Only' Album". XXL. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  5. ↑ Reed, Ryan. "Watch J. Cole Write Lyrics, Talk Music Theory in Album Doc 'Eyez'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Frydenlund, Zach (December 2, 2016). "The Inside Story of How J. Cole's Eyez Documentary Was Made". Complex . Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ Bundy, Will (December 2, 2016). "Watch Cole's Surprise-Released Short Documentary Eyez Now". The Fader . Retrieved December 2, 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Bristout, Ralph (2016-12-02). "J. Cole delivers harsh truth and calls out "False Prophets" in new 'Eyez' preview". REVOLT. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  9. ↑ "J. Cole Has Dropped New Documentary 'Eyez' On Tidal". OkayPlayer. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  10. ↑ "J. Cole Returns With a 40-Minute Documentary Titled 'Eyez' & Two Videos From His New Album". Billboard. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ Dreamville (December 5, 2016). "Eyez". YouTube . Retrieved July 22, 2020.
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