In January 2017, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Cole's manager and Dreamville president, Ibrahim Hamad revealed not even the label knew they would be releasing 4 Your Eyez Only until very late. The album also serves as Dreamville's president Ibrahim Hamad first executive producer credit for a Cole album. The instrumental, titled "Waves" was used by multiple artists, most notably, fellow rapper Joey Badass, who used it for his track, "Waves", off his debut mixtape, 1999 (2012).

4 Your Eyez Only Vinyl Record - Merchbar J. Cole 4 Your Eyez Only Vinyl Record - Merchbar

And it's just like, damn, I'm really feeding into a cycle of keeping black people down, I'm really feeding into that. Cole featuring Kendrick Lamar which itself samples "Mystic Brew" written and performed by Ronnie Foster. We stand behind every product we sell and offer free live support if you need assistance setting-up, troubleshooting, or maximizing your purchase. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times praised 4 Your Eyez Only, describing it as "spartan but sumptuous, emotionally acute but plain-spoken. The song was produced by Cole, [58] and during his 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour, Cole revealed the beat for "Neighbors" is the instrumental from his 2013 single, " Forbidden Fruit" played in reverse, with a tempo switch and snare removal.For this particular album, to be given the opportunity to work with people who were so kind and so open and so willing to let us do our thing and let us contribute vocals on the track and have this creative freedom is kind of unprecedented for us, and it gave us the opportunity to get our first production credit and really be fully integrated into the sound of the project. As Cole reveals in this, the closing track, this project is meant as a parting message from Cole’s departed friend James to his daughter.

J. Cole – 4 Your Eyez Only (2017, Vinyl) - Discogs

Music videos for the tracks "For Whom the Bell Tolls", " Immortal", "Ville Mentality", " Change", "She's Mine Pt. Singer Anderson Paak and rapper Bas served as opening acts on the second leg of the tour, along with J. XXL named the album one of the best hip hop projects of 2016, they said, " 4 Your Eyez Only is a wonderfully well-produced concept album that tells two sides of a coming-of-age story from a young man who lives his life on the streets.

We didn't really know the backstory at the time of what happened with Vinylz and Boi-1da and [ForeignTeck] who made the beat. His last verse reveals the whole album is actually about his friend’s life and not his own, though Cole’s life has parallels like falling in love and having a child. This is the album where we really get to know him on a personal level through sincere and deep lyrics that still leave me in awe. Cole's worst project, this is arguably his best and is (in my opinion) filled with more emotion than all of his other projects.

4 Your Eyez Only (2017, Vinyl) - Discogs J. Cole – 4 Your Eyez Only (2017, Vinyl) - Discogs

Cole never officially released the videos separately from the documentary, but all were eventually uploaded to YouTube by accounts not associated with Cole. Your Eyez Only, Views and The Weeknd's Starboy were the first albums ever to move over 100,000 albums in a week with streaming alone. He also discusses falling in love and having a child, which provides a source of levity for the album because after all, not everything in life is tragic. The photo that forms the basis of the cover art was shot by Anthony "Supreme" Thompson, who is a photographer and a fan of Cole's.In an interview with XXL in December 2016, Margaux of duo Chargaux spoke on the most surprising part about working on 4 Your Eyez Only. In the United States, 4 Your Eyez Only debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 492,000 album-equivalent units, of which 363,000 were pure album sales, becoming Cole's fourth number one album. In October 2016, while performing at a live concert, Cole said that it would be his "last show for a very long time. James tells him to “play this tape for my daughter,” and as the album comes to a close, we’re met with the sound of the cassette finally being ejected from the player, as Cole has fulfilled his slain friend’s wish.

4 Your Eyez Only — Dreamville 4 Your Eyez Only — Dreamville

Writing for Billboard, J'na Jefferson praised the film saying it "brings black perseverance to the forefront". The album was Cole's first release with Interscope—his previous albums were released by Columbia Records. In a positive review from The Advocate, Josh Jackson stated, "it may not have the force of 2014 Forest Hills Drive, but this is a highly personal set, confirming Cole's status as one of the best young rappers out there. Producer Cardiak with help from Frank Dukes created the beat for the track " Immortal" with Cole in mind shortly after the release of Cole's previous album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.In the final track, it is revealed that he has died, and almost the entire album is a tape he created for his daughter to listen to after he's gone. The tour began June 1, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina and concluded December 9, in Perth, Australia.