The much-anticipated off-season finally dropped last week and the fans have had mixed reviews. J Cole has been teasing this project for a long time, there was also a lot of speculation about this being his last album, but we know the last album is going to be the fall-off and we might get an in-between project as well.
Off Season!
The name of the album might be hinting towards J Cole’s basketball career, in the documentary released before the album, he said, he should’ve become a pro basketball player. Just recently he scored his first pro basketball point.
The album starts with a pretty aggresive song, the beat, J Cole’s flow and lyrics are imposing Authority over the entire rap game. J Cole comes in quick with his heavy bars and wordplay. At one point he says “Check your genitalia, pussy ni**as bleeding on yourself”.
The next 2 songs see Cole with a smooth melodic flow which sounds good. The 21 savage feature was a bit odd, but Cole and 21 complement each other’s style very well.
Halfway through the album the quality takes a hit, mind you, J Cole still is great, but not upto the standards we’ve expected from him.
There are very few negatives, the Lil baby feature song wasn’t good, it was generic, to say the least. Many fans have a problem with Cole not talking about things other than his life, Cole got famous because of his relatable songs, but it has been a decade now, he should dabble into something new.
The album is still new, and this might sound a bit harsh but the album won’t age well. It’s nowhere near to the brilliance of Kendrick’s to pimp a butterfly. Though the off-season is better than his last two projects, it isn’t as great as 2014 FHD.
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