Whenever a rapper of J. Cole's caliber drops an album—especially after a long wait—the reactions are bound to be all over the place. Sometimes, folks will try and stir up controversy by overreacting positively or negatively on purpose. Naturally, that can skew the overall perception of an album and to no surprise, that's happening with The Fall-Off.
However, if you fight your way through the dramatized reviews, there is still a lot of divide amid the hip-hop community. It seems that the complaints for Cole's seventh LP are that the production feels too flat, there's too much singing on his part, and there's not enough features.
Some are also complaining about the subject matter. One argument is that there's a lack of accountability on his part and that he's doing too much finger pointing. Of course, the five-year wait since The Off-Season is contributing to some of these negative reactions, which isn't a surprise.
But on the other hand, there's a lot of glowing reactions, too. Many believe J. Cole delivered his most focused project from front to back to date and are sad that this could indeed be the end. But even with that being a possibility, folks in this camp feel J. Cole ended his career perfectly if he winds up riding off into the sunset.
J. Cole Explains The Meaning Behind The Fall-Off
Overall, we expect even more intense debates across social media over the next few weeks and even months. This is an incredibly dense album as it contains 24 songs and over an hour and 40 minutes of material to digest.
The subject matter is personal and nuanced as J. Cole focuses on themes of growth, fame, pressure, and his legacy. The North Carolina native explained it more in depth a couple of days ago, describing what each disc reflects.
In part he says, "The Fall-Off, a double album made with intentions to be my last, brings the concept of my first project full circle. [...] When this album releases please know that you, in some deeper metaphysical type way, are in the music too." Disc 29 focuses on him returning to his hometown of Fayetteville. Disc 39 is roughly the same, but from a more seasoned and wiser perspective as a 39-year-old.
More Reactions For The Fall-Off
