J. Cole's 'The Off-Season': The Difficulty Of Maintaining Artistic Standards
Heavy is the head that wears the crown…
It’s been three long years since *J. Cole* blessed the music world with his fifth studio album *'KOD'* and rap enthusiasts across the globe have been itching eagerly for his next project to finally drop. Despite releasing two new singles last year called ‘The Climb Back’ and ‘Lion King On Ice’, the lyrical veteran has been suspiciously quiet about his upcoming music, but now *‘The Off-Season’* has officially arrived and it appears the hiatus was all worthwhile. However, are J. Cole’s days of wearing the crown of hip-hop coming to an end or has his reign at the throne only just begun?
At 36, J. Cole is certainly no stranger to the unrelenting scourge of the rap scene. Where many long-serving artists have tried and failed to blow away the cobwebs of their outdated sound, J. Cole has always managed to reinvent his music for new audiences.
His latest album is an auditory joyride through the depths of his internal struggles with success. In just twelve songs, Cole alternates seamlessly between his cutthroat delivery heard on ‘9 5 . s o u t h’ to a euphonic flow reminiscent of Roddy Rich. This marks a break from his candid style which sets it apart from his earlier work.
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But J. Cole has not completely abandoned his recipe book of rhymes. Even the ‘I n t e r l u d e’ that he prematurely teased a week before the album release date bears all the hallmarks of a matured artist who is sparing no effort to further his creativity in the studio. The song is so energetic and lyrically versatile that it’s little wonder why it surpassed Polo G’s ‘RAPSTAR’ to claim the top spot on Apple Music, earning 8.5 million on-demand audio streams in the U.S. overnight.
There are very few rappers in the industry right now who can go platinum without the accompaniment of any features, but the iconic wordsmith has made it look like a cakewalk with his previous two albums, ‘KOD’ and *‘4 Your Eyez Only’*. Fans wondered whether Cole would stay a lone wolf for The Off-Season, but he finally succumbed to popular demand and brought in 21 Savage and Lil Baby. While speaking with *GQ* in 2019, J. Cole did hint that he was ready to collaborate again after being lampooned for his solitary lifestyle. “Alright, it’s almost embarrassing now. Man, ya’ll gonna make me put a feature on the album just so this shit can stop.”
There is much to be admired about J. Cole’s individualism, yet with the clock ticking down on his illustrious career, it would have been rude to depart without at least offering his fans the chance to hear him on a collaborative track. Besides his unified roster Dreamville, fans haven’t heard the Grammy-nominated artist perform alongside anyone else since his guest appearance on *Gang Starr’s track ‘Family and Loyalty’ back in 2019*.
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Having soared to the apogee of hip hop after his emergence in 2007 with his debut mixtape ‘The Come Up’, J. Cole is now reaching a frangible state in his career. The long-serving rapper acknowledged this insecurity during his Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary. “This is the moment that a lot of your favourite rappers hit a crossroad where they did what the f**k they set out to do and then the fruits of their labour started working against them. That same energy and that same passion they put into the craft was gone and was replaced by comfort and luxury.”
As with most genres of music these days, rap’s revolving door gives the hottest artists a spell of fame before they are quickly ushered out again. It’s a brutal struggle for relevance – an unforgiving playground – with so many artists all competing for the same spotlight.
Although J. Cole’s status in rap culture is undeniable, it does not mean he’s exempt from overstaying his welcome. The new wave of upcoming rappers might consider him a surviving relic of a bygone era caught between retirement and prolonging his legacy. This generational turnover is something which Cole himself addressed in his *2019 track ‘MIDDLE CHILD.*’ “I’m dead in the middle of two generations, I’m little bro and big bro all at once/ Just left the lab with young 21 Savage, I’m ‘bout to go meet Jigga for lunch,” he spits.
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It’s no secret that J. Cole has one eye on retirement. In a recent interview with Slam, the North Carolina rapper admitted that he is “super comfortable with the potential of being done with this s**t.” If that is indeed true then his latest album gives no indication that he is bowing out the studio without first consolidating himself as the greatest rapper of his generation.
Time is not your friend when you’re in the rap industry. Those lucky enough to reach the dizzying heights of stardom often have a difficult time staying there as shown by other aging rappers like Eminem and Kanye West. However, J. Cole has taken the possibility of failure in his stride – proving to the world once again that he can still swim with the sharks.
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'The Off-Season' is out now.
Words: *Richard Sayell*
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