The long long awaited album from J.Cole titled "The Off Season" hit streaming services on 14th May 2021 to the delight of Cole-Miners everywhere...
J.Cole had been gone for a minute, he dropped his previous album "KOD" in April 2018, went on an impressive feature run and if you been reading some of these blogs here then you would know that he dropped a two-track EP called "Lewis Street" on July 22nd 2020, with one of the songs on that duo-tape making it onto "The Off Season" - "The Climb Back". It's a shame that "Lion King On Ice" never made it because that song was fire too and would've fit the tracklist quite well in my opinion.
Moving a little later on in time to like, last month, Cole came out of nowhere, announced an release data and dropped the track "Interlude" as a single. I thought the track was dope, it had a nice easy beat, and Cole flowed over it well with impressive catchy cadences jelled into his bars.
Following that we had his LA Leakers freestyle where he spat over the classic "93 Til Infinity" beat, and this was probably the highlight of the entire album rollout. This was even arguably better than some of the verses that made the album. Some people even went as far as saying that this was the best freestyle they had seen in their lives. It was certainly good.
This album was great for me pretty much on impact. Some of the instrumentals veered into the rather unremarkable, but Cole's lyrics and flows made this album so listenable and interesting. They were potent, confident & sometimes cocky, meaningful, aggressive, in-your-face and most importantly, enjoyable. If on "Forest Hills Drive" we get a down-to-earth humble Cole, giving you life lessons and advice and seeming like a normal dude who just likes to make wholesome rap music, then this Cole is coming for the throne properly, he's wanting GOAT status, he's being braggy, he's sick and he knows it, listen to "Applying Pressure" for one of the best examples of this. "Got more M's than a Real Slim Shady video".
On this album, Cole was pushing himself to new levels he has not yet been to. It was nice to see him being reflect on the progress that he has made in his career, from that underdog spitter to a well-respected GOAT of a generation. This ties in nicely with his more confident attitude on this album. He's always been assure himself, just, on this album he's telling you way more explicitly.
I said a moment ago that some of the beats were a little unremarkable. They were okay, just felt a bit "same-ey", I would like a version of this album with boom bap beats, I think Cole could really do something with the sort of stuff Royce raps over on "Phryme" or say, some of what Logic was rapping over "No Pressure".
Some of the hooks missed, but some of them were sooo good. The hype track "95 South" was good for that, but probably my favourite was the joint with Lil Baby, "Pride is the Devil". I found myself humming that song for days since first hearing.
The flows and tempo to "My Life" were really cool, with a head-bopping groove, and 21 Savage comes through with a smooth smooth flow with his monotone delivery that is so quintessential of him now, it is no surprise that this track is a fan favourite.
One of my personal favourites was "Close", with a more classic-sounding instrumental, it reminded me of his mixtape "The Come Up" ever so slightly (mainly in the aesthetic and sonics of the tune - whatever tf that means). The bar, "I don't even give a fuck that I'm broke, 'cause in my mind I'm rich with the shit that I wrote" was filthy and should not go unnoticed.
Speaking of sick lyrics, my favourite from the project came on another one of my favourite tracks "Applying Pressure". I just think this is a super-creative way to put this and a great perspective from someone who has been there and made it himself - "These ni**as whips hard, behind doors can't pay the lease, ain't nothin' wrong with livin' check to check, most have to, instead of cappin' why don't you talk bout being a broke rapper, that's a perspective I respect because it's real, what it's like to be nice as fuck but got to stress to pay the bills."
That is one of my favourite bars in a minute. Cole's technical ability has certainly came on a lot too, and the number of rhymes laced through that lyric right there above.
Overall, this album is nice as fuck. He spazzed frequently and I am going to be re-visiting damn-near every track on this album. It defo slaps. I'm not sure that this is a GOAT-worthy album that some of his super-fans will claim it is. He's definitely met the bar set by his contemporaries like Big Sean, Logic and so on that have dropped in the last 12 months, and if I am being honest, has probably surpassed it. Guess Kendrick will have to step up and his day will come for him to show the world where he is at right now.
But as for "The Off Season", I'm going to go for a solid 8.25/10.
Star Track - Applying Pressure
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