In an alternate universe, 2014 Forest Hills Drive would have been the swan song of J. Cole. Fortunately, we live in a better world in which he developed his career all the way to today with The Fall-Off and its accompanying magazine. According to King Kendrick on Twitter, the massive mag included a very interesting revelation: Kendrick Lamar helped convince Cole to not quit rapping after 2014 FHD.
"By age 29, contentment began to settle in, along with the idea of calling it quits," the magazine entry reportedly reads, followed by a quote from the Dreamville MC: "After Born Sinner, when I was working on [2014's] Forest Hills Drive, I was saying, 'Yo, this might be my last album.' Me and Kendrick [Lamar] was on a plane to Australia going to Eminem's [Rapture] tour, and I remember telling him, 'I think after I do this album, I might be done.' He was like, 'Get the f**k out of here.'"
After this, the two rappers collaborated on the "Black Friday" remixes and dropped some of their best material. The rest of the Fall-Off magazine probably contains even more curious and revealing moments, which fans are excited to dive into.
Is J. Cole Retiring?
Of course, this opens up the question of retirement again, something the North Carolina lyricist has talked about a lot during this run for The Fall-Off. He has said in the past that he's done making albums in the Cole persona and feels satisfied with his contributions.
But J. Cole isn't fully retired, as he just proved with the release of NEVER SAY DIE. The new album from fellow North Carolina lyricist PFG features full production from Cole, plus three guest verses. So he's not out of the game entirely. But it's interesting to contrast this current era with his FHD doubts.
Elsewhere, J. Cole just kicked off The Fall-Off's tour in his home state of North Carolina, specifically with the first of two back-to-back shows in Charlotte. Fans have been going wild over the trek online, and they expressed praise for this opening night.
Debates also emerged about Cole and K.Dot comparisons following the opening night thanks to similar stage set-ups. Although the 2024 beef saga disrupted the dynamics between them, it doesn't erase over a decade of support and camaraderie.
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