Theory: Maybe us hardcore Cole fans can’t help but root for the guy with every new project and every new accomplishment the guy earns. We’ve been hooked since his early mix tape days when he fed us raw hunger, passion, and his own view of the world which was natural to him. We know the guy is a true artist with heart who at the end of the day always had good intentions with making music. We just connect with him and his music knowing he has roots in the same troubled backgrounds as us, came from not the best home situations like us, and at the end of the day spoke to the world about the dreams he had which we related to, cause everybody has dreams. This may be where hardcore Cole fans and avid Hip Hop music listeners who just listen to Cole start to clash. We see a new Cole project and are thankful we’ll get to have more of his insights which hold actual truth, a helpful underlying message to us as listeners, and in essence fresh soul and heart conveyed to us through his music. Music critics and just avid Hip Hop music listeners see a Cole project and want to see if it has more bangers than anything else. They tend to sleep on his messages by not taking the time to soak them up enough, because they don’t find enough interest in his character and music to do so. I’m not trying to write off non-Cole fans as just people who sleep on his messages because there are people who actually soak everything up but still critique his music necessarily, which everyone should do. I’m just saying a lot of people outside of Cole fans are either overly critique-ish of his music for some reason, or they give up on him cause he isn’t their cup of tea. I guess by saying this all it goes to show there are different levels of interest and understanding in Cole’s music for Cole fans and non-Cole fans. Affecting how each rate and review his projects.