Cole: “ The Off-Season” (May 14, 2021)Ĭam’ron on the intro? That’s a great start to the album. Here are my track-by-track reactions and overall initial impressions of “The Off-Season.”

Despite some small structural flaws, “The Off-Season” is a more than satisfactory effort, and it provides some of the greatest music of his career. Thankfully, Cole is continuing to rap at the high level he has consistently held over the last three years. “The Off-Season” gives Cole a chance to reform his studio album reputation, and to cement his legacy as an all time great in rap music. Even as a big Cole fan myself, I feel that his studio albums typically don’t live up to the standards he sets on mixtapes and features, where most of his best work has come by way of loose tracks, mixtapes, EPs and collaborations. His 20 feature run will go down as one of the high points of his career, and he’s made remarkable contributions to various artists’ songs, including on 21 Savage’s “ A Lot” and on his Dreamville label’s album “ Revenge Of The Dreamers III.” Cole released two of the best features of his entire career on “ Under the Sun” and “ Sacrifices.”īut many people - myself included - feel like he doesn’t quite yet have an incredible solo album in his discography, and it’s holding him back from being considered one of the greats in hip-hop. Cole’s rapping has been at its all-time peak.

Since 2018’s underwhelming “ KOD” release, J. Cole is at a pivotal point in his legacy. If you’re Cole though, as long as you continue making quality music that appeals to your core fanbase, his supporters will keep him successful for years to come.J. Cole? Both of them are very successful in their own way – Iggy has a number one hit single which means she has a larger platform whereas Cole has a more dedicated fanbase.įor me, I would always pick Cole. If you’re Iggy, you’re constantly trying to recreate the magic that was “Fancy” and if you don’t connect, your next album will very likely be a flop. Like Cole, both these rappers focused on grassroots marketing, quality music and regular touring.Īsk yourself this question – as an independent artist, would you rather be Iggy Azalea or J. It’s the same reason why Chance The Rapper and Nipsey Hussle are so successful as independent artists. Whether it was by throwing free concerts, participating in engaging discussions on reddit, giving honest and lengthy interviews or hosting listening sessions at his house – Cole always had his fans as a priority.īy building a loyal fanbase, Cole didn’t have to worry about hits to sell records he just had to focus on making the music he wanted and touring as often as possible, knowing that the fans will be there to support him. Instead of trying to create radio hit singles, Cole focused on slowly building his fanbase. The single didn’t do the work my fan base did.

Every album I sold wasn’t because of a hit song. I worked my fan base and put out free music and toured for two years, that’s how.

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