On 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole is the romantic crooner, the street rapper, the backpacker, the college kid, concerned citizen, and the sentimental boy.
On the whole, I think A Record is a brave one: it's a major break from Jay Satellite's past work. He's stepped up his game and this album is demanding.
Flying Lotus' You're Dead! uses a vast knowledge of the past to envision the future, similar to imagining death from the perspective of life experience.
There is an art of record shopping at thrift stores, the key is being "well-versed" in pop music. You're probably not going to find any mint Beatles records