The Fall Off

Okay, we are here for The Fall Off! I wanted to listen to the album a few times before I gave my review and wrote my blog. I wanted to sit with it and dissect it as much as possible. J. Cole, if there was such a thing as a Hall of Fame for rappers, he’s a first ballot inductee. He’s always been known for his storytelling ability and, more so, his humble, people-oriented personality. But his pen is deadly, with the ability to paint pictures with his words. He’s been teasing this project for some years now, and he even hinted that it’s his last album, which I don’t think it will be. So, leading up to The Fall Off, Cole has been hinting at it in features and singles released, which had the music world on the edge of their seats. Recently, Cole caught heat for apologizing to Kendrick Lamar and backing out of the beef that Drake and Kendrick continued, so a lot of people were even more interested in the direction of the album and whether Cole would have to change some of the bravado rap due to backing out of the beef. Some fans said they didn’t care about the apology, while others said, "Listen, you’re one of the nicest in the game. You were talking for years; no one wanted it with your pen, but when the time came, you backed out." It’s on-brand for J. Cole to admit when something doesn’t sit well, but off-brand for hip hop, which is a competitive sport. So a lot of people were left to wonder how he would tackle his raps moving forward.

Pressing forward on the rollout of The Fall Off, he released a quick little EP, Birthday Blizzard, on his birthday, which was a nice little EP to catch the fans' ears. Then right after, he announced that The Fall Off would be coming 2/6/26, which later represents and pays homage to his Carolina hometown. He also revealed it would be a double disc. I was mind-blown—a double disc? That’s hard! The day came, and I pushed play. Disc 29 is about the time he was already successful and returned back home. He had some really good production on Disc 29, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of it. It was when I pressed play on Disc 39, which he says he wrote when he was about to turn 40, that the storytelling on Disc Two became phenomenal. I think J. Cole has a phenomenal marketing team, and the hype behind the album was legendary. It is not my favorite Cole project, but I think Cole made this project for himself and his hometown. Now, it’s still a great project, just not my favorite from him. I do believe he scrapped some songs that had a little more bravado due to not wanting to look like an idiot after backing out of the beef. I give this album a solid 8/10, which again is phenomenal, and we already know he will sell 200-300k copies in the first week. But what also impressed me is his post-rollout, driving around in his old Honda Civic and handing out CDs to fans. This is what makes Cole, Cole! The Fall Off is a great love letter to Carolina, showcasing beautiful storytelling in classic Cole fashion.

- Samuel