<p><span><span>- J Cole<strong> </strong>has always been an odd point in hip-hop discussion as there are those who’ll have you believe he’s among the best the genre has to offer while there are also those who see nothing worthwhile. Many, like myself, fall in the middle, as I see potential in every release but never quite get it. After three years of waiting for his latest record <em>The Off-Season</em>, how does J Cole do this time around? Well…..</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><em>95. South</em> begins with potential but that’s more so due to a <strong>Cam’ron </strong>spoken word introduction and <em>Rocky</em>-esque hype beat than it is J Cole’s performance. Cole brings the usual braggadocio rapper schtick about his longevity and his shorter albums selling better than most rappers double discs which is all true but at the same time, who cares? It’s not threatening when you compare putting hits on MCs to <em>Super Mario</em>. I do, however, appreciate Cole’s level of passion especially when he brings a more energised flow to the back half of the track.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Cole and <strong>21 Savage </strong>found monumental success in 2018 with their collab <em>a lot</em> which at the time proved that Cole still had it after a large slump. <em>My Life</em> tries to imitate that success with a beat so identical that if anyone else did it, they’d be sued for copyright infringement. Yet again, Cole has a pretty solid flow here but as soon as Savage starts, Cole’s light is completely stolen. And it’s no wonder why Cole didn’t want features on his albums for so many years. The <strong>Morray </strong>chorus is unnecessary but I guess the song really needed to be just like the significantly better <em>a lot</em>.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Another huge unnecessary downside to <em>The Off-Season</em> is J Cole’s decision to sing a lot of his own hooks. <em>100 Mil </em>is a boring song in its own right but it’s made so much worse by Cole’s autotune warbling which sounds like <strong>Freddie Gibbs</strong> but with absolutely nothing enedearing about it. Cole’s singing at its best on <em>Pride is the Devil</em> -which has a solid <strong>Lil Baby </strong>feature- results in nothing more than mediocrity.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>My biggest issue with Cole, despite his claims to be conscious, is the clear emotional wall he puts up. That’s why tracks like <em>The Climb Back </em>and especially <em>Let Go My Hand </em>work so well, when Cole lets his guard down. <em>Let Go My Hand </em>is the highlight of the album as Cole details his childhood, raising a son and forays into religion all while over beautiful jazzy production that encapsulates everything that makes an introspective cut work so well.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>I can’t say I’m a huge fan of <em>The Off-Season</em> or Cole’s album work in general. While there is nothing outright awful on this record, Cole always aims high and strikes somewhere significantly less so. It’s hard to detail exactly what it is Cole is missing because he has all the makings of a great rapper. Maybe the disconnect comes from him trying so hard to be a conscious rapper yet still bullying both poor people and other artists for not being on his level of financial success. Either way, somehow I will still get sucked into checking out whatever he does next. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- James Chadwick.</span></span></p>
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