THE (LEGENDS NEVER) FALL off: The Off-Season album review
THE BEST ALBUM I EVER HEARD!…
Going into this album, Cole stated in his Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary, “One more time before I leave, before I feel like I’m fulfilled in this game, let me try to reach new heights from a skill level standpoint,” -and boy did he do that.
The Off Season is a special album that I feel is the best out of J.Cole’s whole discography. His intentions for the album were to make the best music he’s ever made, while also battling the urges to be satisfied with putting out an album that felt presentable. He didn’t want to make an album that the fans would love, but then live with the thoughts of knowing he could have done better.
Also, in that same documentary, he talks about how this album process for The Off Season took years to create. The process consisted of hours on top of hours of putting work into his punch lines, storytelling ability, rhyme scheme, tinkering with songs, and developing his skills as a producer.
The drive J.Cole had to continue to develop his craft at a high level came from a choice he made to give all he could to his music. During an interview he had with Jixn in Slam Magazine, he laid out the thinking that leads him on the journey of creating The Off Season:
“It was literally like looking at a fork in the road. OK, you can go this way and continue to grow and get better, and push yourself and still feel feelings of exhilaration when you tap into new shit and move on. Or, you can go this way and live a more comfortable life that’s less inspired, less push, less stretching yourself, and getting out of your comfort zone. “
He chose option one!
I love the album’s title, The Off-Season, and I love how it’s a connection to the work J.Cole was putting in not only as an artist but also as an aspiring athlete as well. The off-season, specifically in the NBA, is a time where players get into a pattern of preparing themselves mentally and physically for a chance to accomplish the ultimate goal of becoming a world champion.
Throughout the album, you hear that inspiration J.Cole gets from the players in the NBA. He references some of the greats in the modern-day NBA who pride themselves on getting better every off-season, like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Dame Lillard, and Russell Westbrook.
The basketball and sports theme projects are nothing new to J.Cole’s music. You have his classics- The Warm Up, Friday Night Lights, Cole World: The Sideline Story, along with his Any Given Sunday EP series that all fit this mold that he perfected with this album.
What I like most about this album is that it’s the most balanced J. Cole I’ve heard on any of his albums. Every song on it feels thought out, having a purpose with each verse that delivers insight into the mind of J. Cole as he drops jewels, talks about overcoming life’s hard times, and giving out hope.
Each track feels like a conversion between J.Cole and the listener.
Take for example, the song “a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e”, is a whole rant about how great he is by being himself and how many rappers today don’t live the life they rap about. He implies that they instead sell their souls pretending to be something they are not for money. Then the outro is a motivational speech from J.Cole to the listener, saying to believe in your abilities and everything else will stand out for you.
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”
In the following track “p u n c h i n’. t h e . c l o c k” , you have J.Cole breaking that third wall again. He speaks directly to you saying, “Now that I’m rich, I feel nobody understanding’ me All I can do is cut the mic on, holler at you, Can’t let the fame scare me off from speaking candidly.”
I got more cribs than Habitat for Humanity
Shit profound, we propagating more profanity
Paid off collections from recollections of calamity”
J.Cole’s projects always establish an intimate connection between him and the listeners. I believe this album is his greatest flex of that ability due to the off-season work he’s been doing since his last project.
Small details that I felt elevated the album significantly were his use of Cam’ron, Bas, Dame DOLLA, and Diddy’s vocals as cameos that played major roles in tone setting the tracks throughout the album. Sampling a Dr.Martin Luther King Jr speech given before the March on Washington, talking about how the US government purposely didn’t give any federal assistance to the African American community and how now we must “Get Our Check!
The 13 seconds of silence on the track “c l o s e” after the song finished personally brought tears to my eyes as I reflected on the story J.Cole was telling, and how it hit home for me.
And lastly I wanted to mention how the beginning of all the twelve tracks on the album does a fantastic job of grabbing the listener’s ear. It makes it impossible to skip a track because the album’s sequence is incredible and showcases how talented the producers for this album are.
The 13 producers for this album are an all-star team, headlined with the legendary producers T-Minus, DJ Dahi, and Boi-1da. But the most noteworthy producer on the album is J.Cole himself, who produced the longest song on the album, “t h e . c l i m b . b a c k,”.
Features on this aren’t anything to sleep on either. You have Dreamville’s own Bas with a strong Atlanta presence that includes Lil Baby, 6lack, 21 Savage, and lastly Morray from J.Cole’s hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
In my opinion, 21 Savage laid down the best verse of 2021 on the track “m y . l i f e”; it moved me to tears when I first heard it because the struggles 21 talked about hit home for me. You can hear the pain in his voice, the passion behind each bar he delivers, and the vulnerability he showcased throughout the whole verse.
“We don’t participate, ain’t with that squashin’ shit, all we believe in is homicide, I got a good heart, so I send teddy bears every time we make they mommas cry, I pray that my past ain’t ahead of me (21)).”
I like how these bars break down 21’s thought process of wanting revenge for his friend’s death by committing a homicide but realizing that his pain will not go away but rather project on to the next victim’s loved ones. This realization is leading him to think about his mortality and praying he’s not next.
It’s a profound message that 21 savage is getting across in this whole verse, especially for those people who have lost loved ones to gun violence. It’s an important verse, one that I feel showcases the beauty of Hip-Hop.
Even though I feel like 21 savage had the best verse on the album, it should go without saying that I believe J.Cole created a classic hip hop album that will stand the test of time.It goes beyond the fantastic lyricism J.Cole possesses. It’s genuinely the messages (and storytelling) he puts in every bar on this album that will make it a classic.
“let.go.my.hand” is a prime example of the messages J.Cole puts into his music to make his listeners think and reflect. J.Cole reflected on having to navigate through a hyper-masculine environment where he felt like he had to fight for his respect while battling a constant fear of dying- a state of mind I know all too well as an inner city kid growing up around so much violence and hoping I’m not next.
J.Cole is facing all this after realizing that the reality he lived isn’t one his son will live, but he will pass on the knowledge he got from it to his sons. He’d rather use those traumatic experiences to make a better future for his kids.
These experiences are how J.Cole spreads that wisdom to his listener, like in the last track.
In “t h e . c l i m b . b a c k” you hear Cole in the first verse talking about how living in the projects built up his resilience to overcome any odds- “Made a lil’ tune called “Foldin Clothes,” and a nigga still ain’t known to fold under pressure, Well, you know what Cole do, Make a diamond, they just rhymin’, me, I’m quotin’ gold”
In the second verse, you get a story about how he wants the best for everyone in the same struggle as him, but not at the expense of being used for his blessings.
“Just got off the phone with my nigga, he back in the kennel, my dog lost, I brought him ‘round close to me before but he, Became addicted to clout and all the hoes we’d meet, I slowly peeped jealousy on his breath whenever he spoke to me, Like on the low, he feelin’ that in my shoes is where he supposed to be.”
“t h e . c l i m b . b a c k” is J.Cole at his best. He displays his G.O.A.T level skills as a storyteller and lyricist by developing a dope concept for a song and producing the whole production for it.
(Random Side Note: In the “t h e . c l i m b . b a c k” J.Cole says “Everybody mentions suicide prevention, Man they even made a hotline, To call up when there’s tension, but I got a question, What about a fuckin’ homicide? Need a number for my niggas to call Whenever there’s a urge to get triggers involved”
Here’s the number: SAMHSA Distress Helpline offers crisis support service for anybody experiencing emotional distress because of gun violence at 1–800–985–5990. You can also text the Public Distress Helpline by texting “TalkWithUs” to 66746)
The Off Season is the greatest album of all time!
Now before you pop off, let me just say- this is my opinion! I’m a J.Cole fan because I see a lot of myself in the music he makes. I relate to the things he says beyond just the rhymes; the knowledge and wisdom he puts into this album are why I believe it to be the greatest album of all time.
And if you still want to argue about that… just remember, “God has a plan for you!”
