Some sessions also took place at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, over the summer of 2016. The majority of the album was recorded at a home and recording studio in North Carolina that Cole nicknamed the Sheltuh. Majority of the album was recorded in Raleigh, North Carolina (pictured). XXL named it one of the best cover arts of 2016. The cover art was revealed when the album was made available for pre-order on iTunes. Then a few days passed and I finally found this photo that I felt represented the cover the most to me to pitch to him. Cole and I spent hours one night looking for photos for his album cover but nothing seemed to stand out. But, he couldn't understand what was going on in his world. The boy even asked Cole several times who he was. Cole, but was somewhat amazed how everyone was reacting to him. I saw in his eyes he knew nothing about J. I can see in his eyes how much this experience is slowly changing his life forever! The young boy's face just stood out to me to capture. This Atlanta neighborhood was just going crazy! People were running out of their house to take a photo of Cole and ask him questions but, there was something to me about this boy and how he kept looking at Cole as he walked around his neighborhood. The photo was shot in an Atlanta neighborhood in September 2016. 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. By the time it actually came out only seven people had heard the album in its entirety. 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. Cole or 4 Your Eyez Only between December 7 to December 19, 2016. According to a Twitter rep, there were 2.7 million tweets mentioning J. Dreamville Records revealed 4 Your Eyez Only official track listing on December 6 through their Twitter account. In October 2016, while performing at a live concert, Cole said that it would be his 'last show for a very long time.' However, on December 1, with no announcement from Cole himself, a pre-order for his fourth studio album, titled 4 Your Eyez Only was made available on iTunes Store, with a release date for December 9, 2016. During his feature on that track, Cole declares, 'Said all I could say, now I play with thoughts of retirement'-a line that had fans of Cole's wondering about the future of his music career. On July 29, 2016, released his ninth album, Major Key includes the fifth track of which-titled 'Jermaine's Interlude'-features Cole. On January 12, 2017, 4 Your Eyez Only was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and was certified Platinum on April 7, 2017. It appeared on several music publications' year-end lists. The reception for 4 Your Eyez Only was generally positive many critics praised Cole's songwriting and called it his most mature album to date. The album also debuted at number one on Billboard 's Canadian Albums Chart. It had the third-largest weekly sales for an album in 2016.

In June 2017, Cole embarked on the 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour, to promote the album.Д¤ Your Eyez Only debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 363,000 copies in its first week (492,000 with additional album-equivalent units), earning Cole his fourth consecutive number-one album in the country. Promoting the release, Cole released a one-hour documentary ( by the same name) on Apon HBO, featuring music from the album. Cole achieved twelve simultaneous Hot 100 entries in a single week. All 10 songs from 4 Your Eyez Only debuted in the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100. The album was supported by two singles: ' Deja Vu,' and ' Neighbors'. The album also touches on other topics such as love and fatherhood. The album explores a variety of topics concerning the African American community including mass incarceration, racial discrimination, gang violence and depression. Most of these recordings took place from 2015 to 2016, while the production on the album was primarily handled by Cole himself, alongside several other record producers such as Vinylz, Boi-1da, Cardiak, Ron Gilmore, Frank Dukes, Chargaux and Elite, among others.

4 Your Eyez Only was released exactly two years after Cole's previous studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The album was Cole's first release with Interscope-his previous albums were released by Columbia Records. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records.

4 Your Eyez Only is the fourth studio album by American rapper J.

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