J Cole’s past year has been about going back home. In late 2014, he released 2014 Forest Hills Drive, an album named for one of his childhood addresses and which earned him fairly positive reviews. Now, starting today, J Cole is finishing what he started with that album, releasing J. Cole Forest Hills Drive: Road to Homecoming, a four-part series that will be available on HBO Now, HBO Go, and Vimeo. It’s intended as a lead-up to the concert event, Homecoming, which will air on HBO at 10 p.m. on January 9.
In a press release J Cole says that this multi-part documentary will raise the bar for all music documentaries in the future, but he says to read it in “Kanye voice,” so it’s probably worth taking that part with a grain of salt. Regardless, the rapper and singer seems intent on expressing the fact that he cares deeply about the project. It’s also worth noting that this is the first time HBO has aired any major, new project straight to its streaming services, which might hint at the fact that their future plans might include some streaming-only content. But only time will tell.
J Cole’s Homecoming concert will air on HBO proper in January. The four-part documentary series will air every Wednesday at 12 p.m., starting today. After the special airs on January 9, all of the mini-docs will be removed from streaming services, though. So keep that in mind.
You can watch the first episode below: