J. Cole Announces New Album ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’

It’s official. In just three weeks, J. Cole will release his third album 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

The album went for pre-order on iTunes on Sunday night with a release date of December 9. The follow-up to last year’s Born Sinner features 13 tracks, but the titles have yet to be revealed.

“What up? My New Album is finished,” said Cole. “It’s called 2014 Forest Hills Drive and it’s very special to me. It’s available everywhere on 12/9. This time I’m releasing no singles, just the album. See you in 3 weeks. Thank you for the love and support.”

The announcement comes following a leak from Amazon and iTunes earlier in the day, which revealed the title and release date.
2014 Forest Hills Drive is the address of Cole’s childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which he purchased in June of this year for $121,000. He sent out a letter to his neighbors inviting them to a listening session on November 29 and 30.
“If we’ve never met, I’m Jermaine, and I recently purchased 2014 Forest Hills Drive,” wrote Cole. “I grew up here with my brother and my mother, Kay.”
He also released a trailer in which he returns to Fayetteville and visits his old stomping grounds including his high school and the local skating ring. He reminisces on happier times in the seven-minute clip, which includes home footage of him as a child.
“I’ve gotten to this point in my career and realized that, yeah I got a lot more dreams and I want to go further,” said Cole, “but at the same time, I don’t want it if it’s at the expense of my happiness, and I don’t want it if it’s at the expense of my sanity or if I have to become someone who’s so out of touch with what’s real.”
Watch Cole’s homecoming below.