| Friday Night Lights | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixtape by J. Cole | ||||
| Released | November 12, 2010 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Label | Roc Nation/Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment | |||
| J. Cole chronology | ||||
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Friday Night Lights is the third official mixtape from Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole. It was released on 12 November 2010.[1] The mixtape was to originally be called Villematic and contain J. Cole's previous leaks and freestyles,[2] however, J. Cole later stated it would have original material.[3] The mixtape became the second most searched and trending topics on Google and Twitter respectively following its release.[4][5] Some songs on the mixtape were slated to be on his debut album at one point or another.
Contents |
Producers who contributed to the tape are J. Cole himself, Bink, Kanye West, L&X Music, Syience, Timbaland & long-time friends Elite and Omen. Custom made copies can be found online.
The bonus track on the mixtape, "Looking for Trouble" was released for free on 7 November 2010 by Kanye West as part of his series G.O.O.D. Fridays where he released a song every Friday for multiple months until Christmas of 2010.[6]
A video for In the Morning was shot during a concert in Paris. J. Cole and Drake performed the song live on many occasions, such as Drake's Lights Dreams and Nightmares Tour. J. Cole said “It was my first time in Paris, and I got a text from Drake. And it was him just telling me he heard 'In The Morning' for the first time. My real fans will know that’s it an older song,” J.Cole tells VIBE. “He said it was incredible, and I’ve always wanted to bring that record back to life because the original version I recorded in my bedroom—in my old crib, in my small room.”Feeling the time was right for two of rap’s most talked about rookies to team up, Cole calmly told Drake that he wanted to revamp the record.
“When he hit me, I was already thinking that over the past few months," Cole continued. "I told him that I appreciated it, and he was really making me want to bring it back to life. He said, 'If you do it, make sure you save me 16 on the song.'”
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.3/10)[7] |
| AllHipHop | [8] |
AllHipHop gave the mixtape a rare classic rating of 10/10 saying, "Friday Night Lights is a mixtape with very few blemishes and faults. Cole nicely nits together a very interesting precursor to his upcoming album “Cole World” and it holds its own as one of the most complete mixtapes of the year. Is he “The One”? Well we do not know that yet – but Friday Night Lights definitely has us paying attention." [9] In the same vein, Lost In The Sound gave the mixtape 88/100 saying, "Friday Night Lights is a great effort from Cole all around, showcasing both his lyrical and production talents, but still addressing all of the emotional issues that have become the ‘bread-and-butter’ of Cole’s musical repertoire." [10]
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Friday Night Lights" (Intro) | J. Cole | 1:45 |
| 2. | "Too Deep for the Intro" | J. Cole, Jay Dee | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Before I'm Gone" | J. Cole | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Back to the Topic" (Freestyle) | Mario Winans, Carmelo Famouss, Bryan-Michael Cox | 3:00 |
| 5. | "You Got It" (featuring Wale) | J. Cole | 4:47 |
| 6. | "Villematic" | Bink | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Enchanted" (featuring Omen) | J. Cole, Omen | 4:11 |
| 8. | "Blow Up" | J. Cole | 5:00 |
| 9. | "Higher" | J. Cole | 3:49 |
| 10. | "In the Morning" (featuring Drake) | L&X Music | 3:54 |
| 11. | "2Face" | Syience | 4:46 |
| 12. | "The Autograph" | J. Cole | 3:43 |
| 13. | "Best Friend" | Timbaland | 3:25 |
| 14. | "Cost Me a Lot" | J. Cole | 3:18 |
| 15. | "Premeditated Murder" | J. Cole | 3:54 |
| 16. | "Home for the Holidays" | J. Cole | 3:55 |
| 17. | "Love Me Not" | J. Cole | 3:31 |
| 18. | "See World" | Elite, J. Cole | 4:14 |
| 19. | "Farewell" | J. Cole | 3:32 |
| 20. | "Looking for Trouble" (featuring Kanye West, Pusha T, Big Sean & CyHi da Prynce) (Bonus track) | Kanye West | 5:35 |
Sample credits
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