The new 4 Your Eyez Only HBO documentary features a teaser of some new music from J. Cole, as well as CCTV footage of the SWAT raid on the artist’s home recording studio that inspired the track “Neighbors.”
The documentary, which aired Saturday night, revealed the footage that shows several heavily armed SWAT team officers kicking in the doors of the studio. The footage appears to be from March 18, 2016.
No charges were ever laid against Cole as a result of the raid, as his producer Elite explained to Complex last December: “They go downstairs and all they see is a studio … It’s just crazy ironic because out of anybody, they picked the wrong person. J. Cole is the last person to do anything like that. He’s out here doing extremely positive things for the community and for young artists.”
AD LOADING...
The incident did inspire Cole’s song “Neighbors,” which is about white neighbors assuming the black people in their affluent neighborhood are there selling drugs.
On a more uplifting note, the documentary, directed by Scott Lazer, also featured a new J. Cole track, a minute of which can be seen in the video below.
Introspective lyrics, a stripped-back piano-laden beat, and a wholesome music video? The whole thing screams “Platinum with no features … again.”
