J. Cole Details His Creative Process Behind "Disc 2 Track 2" From "The Fall-Off"

BY Cole Blake
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RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 6: J. Cole performs onstage during the 2025 Dreamville Music Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on April 6, 2025 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)
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J. Cole will finally be releasing his highly anticipated project, "The Fall-Off," as his seventh studio album, next month.

J. Cole will speak about his creative process during an upcoming interview with Timmhotep Aku, who shared a clip from the discussion on Instagram, Tuesday. In the video, Cole reflects on making his first single from The Fall-Off, "Disc 2 Track 2." He shared the song for fans, last week, while also confirming a release date for the new album.

Cole begins by comparing his memories of writing specific songs to a football player remembering game-winning touchdowns. He recalls the exact moment he conceptualized his idea for the track, on which he details his life story in reverse. The song begins with the lines, "I persevered through the worst, my thirst to adhere is a curse / My life, I see it in reverse, I first appeared in a hearse."

"It didn't come as quickly as I just rapped it to you. It's quietly puzzling it... I say that to say, I might've sat in that spot for 12 hours that day," he says. He adds that he sat on the verse until the perfect beat came along, and then he recorded it in Miami.

Cole concludes: "Those moments, writing it? That’s the number one experience. And recording it is right there. I'm gonna tell you the truth, releasing it was exciting yesterday, but that sh*t is nothing in comparison. The reactions are at the bottom of the pole. That's beneath the floor because no fulfillment comes from that... good or bad response, no fulfillment comes from that.”

J. Cole's "The Fall-Off" Release Date

J. Cole will be releasing The Fall-Off on February 6. He announced the project with a trailer, last week. It features a narrator speaking about longevity in the entertainment industry as Cole cleans off his car.

“Everything is supposed to go away eventually,” the narrator says. “Especially in show business with famous actors or musicians. It’s like, ‘This guy used to be famous and then he fell off.’ They want to point this, this and this and they made this mistake.”

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.

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