Jermaine Cole topped the US charts with his first two albums. On his third, the North Carolina rapper is wondering if success is all it’s cracked up to be – “Think being broke was better,” he muses on Love Yourz. Cole is an entertaining braggart and his reflections on growing up in a tough place are compelling, but when he attempts to downplay his recent fortunes it comes across as disingenuous. He’s a smart, self-assured lyricist – confident enough to end with a 14-minute thank-you track – but not as interesting in his contradictions as the likes of Drake or Kanye West.
