Album Review: The Off-Season by J. Cole

Rapper J. Cole has recently released his highly anticipated sixth studio album, The Off-Season. The album is generating a lot of positive reception, but I have had yet to listen to it. Will it be worth the wait, or will it be for J. Cole fans what Whole Lotta Red was for Playboi Carti fans? (Keep in mind that I'm not a diehard J. Cole fan, so my viewpoint of this album will be neutral.)

1. 9 5 . s o u t h

This track has some pretty good lines from Cole, and the beat is nice to listen to. I also enjoyed the voice samples from Cam'ron and Lil Jon. Even with all of that, the track is still a bit underwhelming as an intro. However, it still earns a solid 8/10 from me.

2. a m a r i

Although we get another flurry of hard-hitting bars from Cole, this track just feels too plain for it to stand out so far. Maybe when I revisit the album I'll enjoy it more, but for now it earns a 6.5/10.

3. m y . l i f e (ft. 21 Savage and Morray)

This probably rarely ever happens, but even though Cole delivered a somewhat solid verse, he was outperformed by the guest artists. Morray came through with an extremely catchy hook, further proving that he's gonna be a big name in hip-hop one day. The best part of the track is 21 Savage's gritty guest addition, dropping lines left and right. I give this track an 8/10.

4. a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e

This track stands out to me much more than the previous tracks on this album thanks to its memorable outro, which takes up around 1/4 of the running time of the track and is definitely a closer for the books. However, Cole also delivers a fiery verse, and the track gives off "local hip-hop station at late night" vibes, with the air-horn noise and choppy effects at the beginning, and the sound of the beat in general. This track gets a strong 8.5/10 from me.

5. p u n c h i n ' . t h e . c l o c k

This track is shorter than the others, but it still has the same energy, maybe even more than the first few tracks on the album. It is worth noting that the sampled Damian Lillard speeches add to the album's theme of having a comeback, and it seems that they fit perfectly into this track. I'm giving this an 8/10.

6. 1 0 0 . m i l ' (ft. Bas)

This is the one track I heard before the rest of the album, and I will say that I can see it becoming a sleeper hit. Cole's first verse is pretty good, even though his additions after that fail to match it up before Bas picks back up the energy to close out the track with some heavenly vocals. This track gets a 7/10 from me.

7. p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l (ft. Lil Baby)

For one of the most popular tracks on this album, this track sure is underwhelming. It seems more geared towards the mainstream sound of hip-hop, which is fine, but I feel like Cole was so against that sound that now it feels corny to have him dipping into that a bit. Surprisingly enough, he outperformed Lil Baby by a slight margin on a track with a beat tailored to Lil Baby. Still, this track earns a 6.5/10 from me.

8. l e t . g o . m y . h a n d (ft. Bas and 6lack)

This song's guest additions from Bas and 6lack are pretty decent, but Cole's verse feels empty and bland compared to the other tracks on this project, which is saying something. He raps lazily and with less passion than he should for a wonderful beat like this, practically wasting the instrumental in the process. Oh, and that Diddy sample at the end is cool but unnecessary. This track earns a low 6/10 from me.

9. i n t e r l u d e

I actually didn't hear this track when it came out before the album, and I'm surprised at the breath of fresh air it breathes into this project after the lazy tracks that came before this. It seems like short songs do wonders on this album, and I'm still giving this track a 7.5/10 because it doesn't feel compelling enough to receive a higher rating.

10. t h e . c l i m b . b a c k

This track is pretty okay, I guess. It's impressive that Cole can rap for five minutes straight and still have fire lines all the time, but the track is just too long for it to retain any kind of memory for me. Still a fire song, though, so I'll give it a 7/10.

11. c l o s e

Although this track sounds like half of the album, Cole sounds a bit more alive on this track. It's definitely one of the better songs on the project, even though the sound is the same as the previous few tracks. This track gets a 7/10 from me.

12. h u n g e r . o n . h i l l s i d e (ft. Bas)

This instrumental is godly, and I guess Cole compliments it. I'm kind of tired of the Bas features on this album, because they all sound the same. I'm pretty sure Bas is an extremely talented musician, but it's just he sounds out of place on this track. I'll give this track a 7/10.

FINAL RATING: 7.25/10