Off First Listen- The Off Season- Review
Album- The Off Season Artist: J Cole By Shawn William
Disclaimer: If you listened to this album on your laptop, computer speakers or janky headphones then IDGAF about your opinion about this album. This is car system, expensive headphone music so stay your goofy ass out my comments.
There's album J Cole & then there's mixtape J Cole. This latest album is definitely mixtape (I rap better than most of your favorite rappers, fuck the singing) J Mutha Fuckin Cole.
The Cole Stans are outside, beating their puffed out chest today yelling out loud "JERMAINE IS BACK! GAME POINT B****!"
The album is an 11 tracks (12 if you include the interlude) adrenaline rush rap fest. It starts with one of the crazies collaborations of all times Killa Cam shit talking & hyping up Cole's lyrical abilities over a Jay-Z sampled beat. When Cole said "look how everybody claps when your 30 song album do a measly 100 tho" I felt he was shooting at Drake's "Scorpion" album that physically sold only 400K unlike his other albums in the past. Yes, we all know Cole & Aubrey are cool in real life but Cole seems to be pulling a K-Dot on "Control" letting the top tier rappers know "The South has something to say" word to 3 Stacks.
95 South comes off like "Locomotive" by Nas & Large Profess. A dope MC gas'n while a legend in the game is telling the world "are you stupid, or are you dumb?" What takes the track over the top is the Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz sample at the end. JESUS!!!!!
Track 2 "Amari" is a Timbo produced track that keeps Cole in his rap bag even though there's a melodic feel, I started to get scared thinking there would be a falloff because the 1st track was so damn fire until we get to track 3 "My Life" which takes the album even higher. J Cole again was "Rapping his ass off". Bars on top of Bars & what followed was a hook originally sung by one of my favorite rappers Pharaohe Monch & 16 bars of fire by one of my new favorite rappers 21 Savage. Cole & Savage are really a nice 1-2 punch nowadays, so nice they should do an entire album together 🗣 BUT NOT BEFORE COLE & KENNY!!
The rest of the album is solid with stand out songs like "100 Mil" & "Pride is the Devil". One of my favorite tracks that probably one a lot of people won't feel which is "Close" probably why he put it towards the end.
Off one listen I give the album a solid B+. Cole Stans are going to hate my rating & Cole haters will say that I'm "too cought up in the moment" hating my rating too but I don't care I like this album, it doesn't feel like a classic & that's not a bad thing. To me it feels better than Forrest Hills Drive & KOD my favorite studio albums from Cole, it also feels like "Friday Night Lights" & "The Warm Up" my two all time favorite projects by J Cole and that's all I want.
Though I feel Drake & K Dot will top this album when they drop they MIGHT have to change a track or 2 because J Cole was "rapping his ass off" and is on their bumper.