This week has seen so much hype for J. Cole's The Off Season that you'd think it was dropping this Friday. Alas, the big day is set to arrive next Friday, May 14th, which gives ample time for Cole and his Dreamville associates to drum up hype to the umpteenth degree. We've already heard from Cozz on the matter, who confidently declared the project to be Cole's best album yet. It would appear he's not alone in that promising assessment.
Frequent Cole collaborator Bas, who held it down alongside him on "My Ni**a Just Made Bail," "Boca Raton," and "Down Bad," also took a moment to throw a bit of coal into the hype train's engine. "The Off-Season @realcoleworld 5/14/21 @dreamville," writes Bas. "I ain’t never lied to you. Y’all can get out my dm’s now. this is up there with bros best works to date. put my word on that too.
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Bas' claim was swiftly echoed by Dreamville co-founder Ibrahim H, who deemed Bas' praise to be "big facts." While it's not entirely surprising to see a label uniting behind a big release, it's still cool to see Bas and Cozz alike stepping up and recognizing what Cole is bringing to the table. One has to wonder if we'll see a heavier Dreamville presence on The Off-Season, or if J. Cole will hold true to his oft-cited mantra of going "platinum with no features."
We already saw Timbaland teasing a potential J. Cole Off-Season collaboration, so it's entirely possible that Cole is opening the door for guest appearances on this go-around. It would certainly be exciting to see an increased Dreamville presence, perhaps a "Down Bad" reunion posse cut with Bas, J.I.D, and EarthGang or even a conceptually driven response to Cozz and Reason's "Lambo Truck." All bets are well and truly off.
Look for the Bas and Cozz approved The Off-Season to arrive in full on Friday, May 14th. Do you think this one has the potential to be Cole's magnum opus?
