It’s safe to say that J. Cole has been getting us hyped up for this album for a while now. In 2018, on his album KOD, the last song was titled 1985 (intro to “The Fall Off”). He’s kept up the hype by hinting at it now and then on guest verses and singles, as well as other content in the weeks leading up to the album.
But now, the wait is finally over.
The Fall-Off is here.
Side one of this 24 track album starts with 29 Intro, sampling James Taylor’s Carolina in My Mind. This transitions into Two Six, a hard hitting track where Cole alludes to Fayetteville’s nickname, “The 2-6”.
SAFETY is up next, one of my favorite tracks on the album. Cole flows over an amazing beat, and talks about growing out of his hometown and the deaths of people he knew.
Some high points of this first side definitely include WHO TF IZ U, with a crazy beat switch. I also enjoyed Bunce Road Blues, a lengthy track where Cole raps about his youth over a hypnotizing beat. Bombs in the Ville/Hit the Gas is very spacey and has great vocals.
On the final track of side one, Lonely at the Top, Cole raps about the path to fame and his youth. This is some of the best lyricism I’ve heard from him, even this late in his career.
Side two starts off with a bang. 39 Intro is easily one of the best songs on The Fall-Off. It starts slowly, but the music builds up and makes this song an instant classic.
The Fall-Off is Inevitable describes his life if it was played backwards, starting with his “death” and working all the way back to his birth.
Life Sentence, Only You, and Man Up Above get a little repetitive in these middle few tracks of side two. Only You being my least favorite track off of this whole album, with drab production and vocals and better songs with the same sentiment right next to it. Other than a somewhat catchy hook on Life Sentance, there’s not much of note about the other two.
I Love Her Again is a classic, heartbreaking love story. Easily a top three song on the album, this track features amazing storytelling from Cole, weaving a tragic love story into effortlessly smooth rhymes and topped off with a catchy hook.
On What If, Cole imagines how things could’ve gone if Biggie and Tupac’s relationship never escalated into the deadly East Coast-West Coast feud. He also uses this to address himself tapping out of the feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. This song features amazing vocals from Morray, a fellow Dreamville artist.
Quik Stop tells the story of Cole having an unexpected encounter with a fan at a gas station, highlighting the relationship between artists and fans.
and the whole world is the Ville is a beautiful track, describing what his life was like growing up in Fayetteville. This song is an amazing tribute to Fayetteville, and how growing up in a city like that was difficult as an artist.
The final track, Ocean Way, is a somber, non-rap track that signals a peaceful end to his career. The poetic vocals from Cole make the album come full circle and is a perfect finale to this album.
Overall, The Fall-Off serves as a recap of Cole’s life and career thus far, posing as his “final” album (nobody actually believes that, right?). It is quite the lengthy album, at an hour and 40 minutes, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. It takes you through the ups and downs of his career, with some unforgettable lyricism and even better instrumentals. Cole experiments with a wide variety of styles on this album, showing how versatile he still is.
