J. Cole Reveals Unlikely Albums That Inspired '2014 Forest Hills Drive'

J. Cole has revealed the two albums that he was listening to on repeat while making 2014 Forest Hills Drive — and they’re probably not what most fans would’ve expected.

During the latest episode of his audio series Inevitable, the Dreamville rapper detailed the recording sessions for his third album and the daily routine that he adopted while living in Los Angeles.

Cole explained that 2014 Forest Hills Drive coincided with a personal and spiritual awakening where he began meditating and adopted a style that prioritized “comfort” over trying to follow fashion trends.

This newfound approach also included daily workouts in Runyon Canyon Park, soundtracked by two particular albums.

“I’d wake up in the morning, put on some shorts [and go through] the alternate entrance for Runyon Canyon,” he said. “It’s this ill little back entrance that nobody uses where you can walk from the crib to this little park area, and then you can scale up the side of the mountain.

“The first time I did it, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I should do this.’ ‘Cause the shit was kinda steep. I ain’t never scaled no mountain before! […] Every day we’d go up from that little side and do Runyon Canyon backwards.”

He continued: “Every day the albums that I would run to and listen to were Abbey Road by The Beatles and The Love Below by André 3000. Bro, literally every fucking day playing these albums.

“That was my routine. Come back to the crib, maybe jump in the pool or the shower, eat, go down and meditate in my little spot and then go to the studio and start working.”

The North Carolina native described this as “one of the greatest periods of my life that I look back on. The shit was so fucking amazing.”

2014 Forest Hills Drive celebrated its 10th anniversary on Monday (December 9).

To mark the occasion, J. Cole released two expanded editions of the album featuring a combined eight previously unheard bonus songs.

They include “Miles” featuring Krazyie Bone and Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, “Black Man Hollywood” and “Winter Wonderland.”

Copies of the reissue are available to purchase exclusively through Cole’s Inevitable webstore.

The “Middle Child” MC is also set to perform 2014 Forest Hills Drive in full at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on December 16.

The one-night-only concert drew a reported queue of almost 150,000 fans hoping to buy tickets, but those who didn’t get lucky need not miss out as the show will be livestreamed on Cole’s Inevitable website for paying members.