{"id":2911,"date":"2021-05-19T17:31:04","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T12:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/?p=2911"},"modified":"2021-05-20T02:24:57","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T20:54:57","slug":"the-off-season-by-j-cole-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/19\/the-off-season-by-j-cole-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Off Season by J. Cole &#8211; Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Since 2011\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/0fhmJYVhW0e4i33pCLPA5i\"><em>Cole World: The Sideline Story<\/em><\/a><em>,<\/em>&nbsp;every&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/6l3HvQ5sa6mXTsMTB19rO5?si=180fc8ce158340e8\">J. Cole<\/a>&nbsp;album has been completely obsessed with being the one that earns him his place on the podium next to his idols&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/5me0Irg2ANcsgc93uaYrpb?si=5399b63480184c11\">Biggie<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/3nFkdlSjzX9mRTtwJOzDYB?si=58668363a2d2496c\">Jay<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/20qISvAhX20dpIbOOzGK3q?si=f545e7cec29f49e0\">Nas<\/a>. It was like he read a copy of&nbsp;<em>How to Make a Classic Rap Album for Dummies<\/em>&nbsp;and has been trying to replicate it ever since. It never quite happened, but it had nothing to do with his skill. He\u2019s a clever lyricist who can make lines stick for both good and bad reasons, the type of a storyteller who could get you to pull up a chair and listen, and his beats may sound familiar but they have this warmth to them that can produce the rare Billboard hit that feels intimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s just that he\u2019s so deadly serious that he can make rap sound like studying for the SATs. In a&nbsp;recent interview&nbsp;with&nbsp;<em>Slam,<\/em>&nbsp;he opened up about how he was once so tormented by aspirations to make long-lasting music that he wouldn\u2019t even allow himself to complete watching a full season of television. Imagine not letting yourself binge-watch&nbsp;<em>Bob\u2019s Burgers<\/em>&nbsp;or whatever because you\u2019re too busy trying to make the next&nbsp;<em>The Blueprint<\/em>! Sounds terrible! Well, finally he\u2019s come to the realization he needs to chill out. Refreshingly, his latest album&nbsp;<em>The Off-Season<\/em>&nbsp;isn\u2019t so damn uptight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Spotify Embed: The Off-Season\" width=\"300\" height=\"380\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/4JAvwK4APPArjIsOdGoJXX\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Off-Season<\/em>&nbsp;is a much-needed break from the heavy-handed preachiness that made&nbsp;<em>KOD<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>4 Your Eyez Only<\/em>&nbsp;such slogs to get through. He pulls back slightly from the narrative form of writing (sorry, to the \u201cWet Dreamz\u201d heads but no virginity tales on this one) in favor of more punchlines and wordplay. This switch doesn\u2019t suddenly turn him into a Flint rapper, but it does sound like he\u2019s having fun for once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That liveliness comes out on the album\u2019s collaborations. On \u201cMy Life,\u201d Fayetteville crooner&nbsp;Morray\u2019s hook repurposes&nbsp;Pharoahe Monch&nbsp;lyrics through vocals that sound like he\u2019s leading a church choir,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/1URnnhqYAYcrqrcwql10ft?si=010f1f20a6a94aa3\">21 Savage<\/a>\u2019s guest appearance is filled with the warmest death threats, and the smoky beat is done by Cole with help from Jake One and Wu10. This gives him the freedom to pour most of his energy into his verse, which catches a nice balance between the sort of shallow but earnest introspection he\u2019s known for and more trivial things that just sound cool: \u201cWanna be in the spot like where every bitch want me like Rihanna droppin\u2019 new Fenty,\u201d he raps. The same could be said for \u201cPride Is the Devil,\u201d where, annoying-Cole-singing aside, his thoughtfulness is complemented by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/5f7VJjfbwm532GiveGC0ZK?si=81d3c27813be4579\">Lil Baby<\/a>&nbsp;being much less thoughtful: \u201cGot my feet up, I paid silly bands to have sex on the jet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j-cole-musicplaylister.jpg?resize=700%2C466&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j-cole-musicplaylister.jpg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j-cole-musicplaylister.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j-cole-musicplaylister.jpg?resize=600%2C399&amp;ssl=1 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But you can still subtly feel that weight on Cole\u2019s shoulders. \u201cApplying Pressure\u201d feels tense, made worse by a lifeless self-produced boom-bap instrumental that sounds like the background music for a \u201990s UPN sitcom and some bars that have become expected of the out of touch rap elite: \u201cIf you broke and clownin\u2019 a millionaire, the joke is on you.\u201d (Nas,&nbsp;would approve of this one.) Some choices feel incredibly forced as well. Most notably the intro where he squeezes some clich\u00e9 flexing in between a half-assed&nbsp;Cam\u2019ron&nbsp;monologue and the jarring tonal shift into&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/7sfl4Xt5KmfyDs2T3SVSMK?si=6b15fa80de494d51\">Lil Jon<\/a>&nbsp;chants. Likewise \u201cLet Go My Hand\u201d would probably fall similarly flat if it wasn\u2019t so funny. In what is supposed to be a sincere moment, he reveals that he once got into a scuffle with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/59wfkuBoNyhDMQGCljbUbA?si=154420ad558e4320\">Diddy<\/a>&nbsp;and in the very same song, Diddy shows up to speak some sort of fake enlightened prayer. None of this works, because no one cares about this beef, especially Diddy, who instead uses his studio time to promote his rebrand into Tony Robbins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the build-up to this album, Cole put out a mini-documentary that asks the question:&nbsp;<em>Why is it so hard to be great in rap as you get older<\/em>? Cole, now 36, believes that he\u2019s solved it, though his answer is actually meaningless motivational speak about hunger and putting in the work and other sayings that belong on a Nike T-shirt. But actually getting older in rap is difficult because life is not the same. Many hugely successful rappers have struggled through this phase, not because they became worse lyricists, but they were clinging to the old days instead of reflecting this change. It happened to Jay on&nbsp;<em>The Blueprint 3<\/em>, Nas back during his \u201cHip Hop is Dead\u201d era, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/5K4W6rqBFWDnAN6FQUkS6x?si=dbd001b1e3bd42c8\">Kanye<\/a>&nbsp;sometime before or after&nbsp;<em>The Life of Pablo<\/em>. Lots of finger-wagging and r\u00e9sum\u00e9 raps about their accomplishments and outside endeavors. By taking a step back on&nbsp;<em>The Off-Season,<\/em>&nbsp;Cole mostly avoids that, even if he still doesn\u2019t have a spot in&nbsp;<em>those<\/em>&nbsp;conversations he dreams of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>J. Cole&nbsp;has also released a new music video for \u201cAmari,\u201d a track from the new album,&nbsp;<em>The Off-Season<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Directed by Mez, the clip finds J. Cole performing \u201cAmari\u201d in a variety of different spaces, some of which recall classic hip-hop videos while others boast a more abstract and surreal flare. There are scenes in which J. Cole uses a remote control to fly a helicopter \u2014 emblazoned with the logo of his label Dreamville \u2014 around New York City, while elsewhere he sports a very dapper suit, stands in front of a raging fire, and even returns to a mock-up of his old college dorm, the wall now covered in gold and platinum records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"J. Cole - a m a r i (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w3333Fo6ufY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-abd2b586\"><div class=\"uagb-social-share__wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-13acc13f\"><a class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.78 90.69 226.38 209.25 245V327.69h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.31 482.38 504 379.78 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-cefe3f7f\"><a class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M400 32H48C21.5 32 0 53.5 0 80v352c0 26.5 21.5 48 48 48h352c26.5 0 48-21.5 48-48V80c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48zm-48.9 158.8c.2 2.8.2 5.7.2 8.5 0 86.7-66 186.6-186.6 186.6-37.2 0-71.7-10.8-100.7-29.4 5.3.6 10.4.8 15.8.8 30.7 0 58.9-10.4 81.4-28-28.8-.6-53-19.5-61.3-45.5 10.1 1.5 19.2 1.5 29.6-1.2-30-6.1-52.5-32.5-52.5-64.4v-.8c8.7 4.9 18.9 7.9 29.6 8.3a65.447 65.447 0 0 1-29.2-54.6c0-12.2 3.2-23.4 8.9-33.1 32.3 39.8 80.8 65.8 135.2 68.6-9.3-44.5 24-80.6 64-80.6 18.9 0 35.9 7.9 47.9 20.7 14.8-2.8 29-8.3 41.6-15.8-4.9 15.2-15.2 28-28.8 36.1 13.2-1.4 26-5.1 37.8-10.2-8.9 13.1-20.1 24.7-32.9 34z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-a7009b66\"><a class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M380.9 97.1C339 55.1 283.2 32 223.9 32c-122.4 0-222 99.6-222 222 0 39.1 10.2 77.3 29.6 111L0 480l117.7-30.9c32.4 17.7 68.9 27 106.1 27h.1c122.3 0 224.1-99.6 224.1-222 0-59.3-25.2-115-67.1-157zm-157 341.6c-33.2 0-65.7-8.9-94-25.7l-6.7-4-69.8 18.3L72 359.2l-4.4-7c-18.5-29.4-28.2-63.3-28.2-98.2 0-101.7 82.8-184.5 184.6-184.5 49.3 0 95.6 19.2 130.4 54.1 34.8 34.9 56.2 81.2 56.1 130.5 0 101.8-84.9 184.6-186.6 184.6zm101.2-138.2c-5.5-2.8-32.8-16.2-37.9-18-5.1-1.9-8.8-2.8-12.5 2.8-3.7 5.6-14.3 18-17.6 21.8-3.2 3.7-6.5 4.2-12 1.4-32.6-16.3-54-29.1-75.5-66-5.7-9.8 5.7-9.1 16.3-30.3 1.8-3.7.9-6.9-.5-9.7-1.4-2.8-12.5-30.1-17.1-41.2-4.5-10.8-9.1-9.3-12.5-9.5-3.2-.2-6.9-.2-10.6-.2-3.7 0-9.7 1.4-14.8 6.9-5.1 5.6-19.4 19-19.4 46.3 0 27.3 19.9 53.7 22.6 57.4 2.8 3.7 39.1 59.7 94.8 83.8 35.2 15.2 49 16.5 66.6 13.9 10.7-1.6 32.8-13.4 37.4-26.4 4.6-13 4.6-24.1 3.2-26.4-1.3-2.5-5-3.9-10.5-6.6z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On J. Cole\u2019s refreshing and lively new album, the rapper relaxes his grip around the mic and thrives when he\u2019s collaborating, not when he\u2019s making deadly serious legacy raps. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[13,22,15,41,5],"tags":[48,107,105,104,10,40,18,19,37,106],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1",960,640,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=768%2C512&ssl=1",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1",960,640,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1",960,640,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1",960,640,true],"mailpoet_newsletter_max":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1",960,640,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1",600,400,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true],"shop_catalog":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"shop_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1",600,400,true],"shop_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/musicplaylister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/j.cole-off-season.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Music Playlister","author_link":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/author\/musicplaylister2106gmail-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":13,"uagb_excerpt":"On J. Cole\u2019s refreshing and lively new album, the rapper relaxes his grip around the mic and thrives when he\u2019s collaborating, not when he\u2019s making deadly serious legacy raps.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2911"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2976,"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911\/revisions\/2976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicplaylister.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}