The Off-Season / J. Cole / May 14, 2021
- Joshua Yoo
- May 22, 2021
- 2 min read
Given the extent of the commercial success, artistic renown, and influence J. Cole has thoroughly enjoyed for the past decade, his self-admitted proclivity for complacency is understandable. A return to form during his “off-season”——deliberate focus towards reaching a point of determined and consistent effort in writing, producing, and recording——sees Cole bring his most diverse and compelling artistry in a long while.
Track-to-track, J. Cole showcases a buffet of styles in his instrumental choices and flows, without much in the way of cohesion or organization, but rather standout individual performances. In the overall topical focus of re-establishing his status and success, Cole’s in-the-pocket rhythmic patterns (“a m a r i”), improved melodic deliveries (“i n t e r l u d e”), and assertive, driving energy (“a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e”) accomplish a lot in setting the right tone for the album.
The unprecedented yet key contributions from guest features not only provide much welcomed breathers from Cole’s style, but also help guide his approach to each track in a refreshingly different way. It reflects on the Morray and 21 Savage-assisted “m y . l i f e,” the pitched sample and steady lyrical flows pulling on the magic of their previous collaboration, or the trap-influenced “p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l,” the vocal chemistry bringing out some of the more dynamic performances from both Cole and Lil Baby respectively.
The reminder that J. Cole still has the chops to rival his contemporaries is made evident from these fruits of his off-season. Invigorated, and clearly still in form, it’s easy to claim Cole is back and better than ever.
Highlight(s): m y . l i f e; p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l; t h e . c l i m b . b a c k; c l o s e; l e t . g o . m y . h a n d
Lowlight(s): 1 0 0 . m i l ‘; p u n c h i n ‘ . t h e . c l o c k
SCORE: 7/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLQ8u3xRZd8
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