The Off-Season

J. Cole Explains It All In His ‘Applying Pressure: The Off-Season’ Documentary

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In his revealing Applying Pressure: The Off-Season documentary, J. Cole breaks down the rationale behind his new album’s title, details its creation, and pursuing his basketball dreams.

From the opening scenes, in which Cole converses with 21 Savage, recalling the moment he decided to take rap seriously, the documentary provides insights into Cole’s work philosophy, such as his belief that “comfort is the enemy,” and his reactions to becoming a father.

The documentary precedes Cole’s upcoming album The Off-Season, which is due to drop this Friday after Cole took 2020 off to try to make a pro basketball roster. This week, he’ll also accomplish that dream; earlier today, famed reporter Shams Charania revealed that Cole had signed a contract for three to six games with the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League, the joint venture between the NBA and FIBA to create a premiere international league on the continent.

While Applying Pressure also features some of Cole’s basketball ambitions, the primary focus is on his new creative process. He talks about having writer’s block, comparing rapping to playing basketball, and putting in the work on being the best player he can be.

Watch Applying Pressure: The Off-Season above.

The Off-Season is due 5/14 via Dreamville/Interscope.

J. Cole Will Release A Documentary For His Upcoming Album, ‘The Off-Season’

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After three long years, J. Cole will finally release a new album on Friday. The Off-Season arrives after quite the wait following his last solo full-length effort, 2018’s KOD. Fans of the Dreamville rapper haven’t been exactly deprived of music from him since the 2018 effort as they received an impressive guest feature run from Cole as well as Revenge Of The Dreamers III which he appeared on multiple times. Nonetheless, just five days remain until The Off-Season drops and now, the project will be preceded by a documentary as Cole revealed in a tweet on Sunday.

Cole shared a trailer for the documentary on his Twitter page, one he recently reactivated, with the announcement. In it, he speaks about the current stage of his career over videos of him in the studio and shooting some hoops at a basketball court.

“This is the moment that a lot of your favorite rappers hit a crossroad,” he says. “Are you okay with getting comfortable? Did you leave no stone unturned creatively? And when I thought about that feeling, I was like ‘Nah, I’m not cool with that.’” The upcoming documentary will be released on Monday at 1 p.m.

The trailer arrives after Cole shared the first single, simply titled “Interlude,” from the upcoming album. Fellow Dreamville rappers Cozz recently shared his thoughts on The Off-Season, calling it Cole’s “best sh*t to date.”

You can watch a trailer for the documentary in the post above.

J. Cole Is As Confident As Ever On His Soulful ‘Interlude’ Ahead Of ‘The Off-Season’

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It’s been almost eight years since J. Cole released a single before an album. His last three full-length efforts, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, 4 Your Eyez Only, and KOD all arrived with little promotion beforehand, none in the form of new music. While many thought the Dreamville rapper would stick to the script that’s worked so well for him in the past, Cole decided to go against his grain and share a new song before next week’s The Off-Season album. “Told myself I would drop the album all at once,” he wrote in a tweet. “Sometimes you gotta say f*ck it tho.” With that declaration comes “Interlude,” the first taste of his forthcoming release.

The new track is carried by a soulful sample and a heavy drums that are a bit distant from the sound Cole has given us over the years. Just a few days ago, Cole announced that The Off-Season would officially arrive on May 14. The news came after months of teasing from himself and fellow Dreamville artists. Prior to this, Bas shared a now-deleted image of Cole working on the album in the studio. “The Off-Season,” he wrote in the caption. “pack your bags. [rocket emoji] in two weeks.” Cozz also shared his thoughts on the album, calling it Cole’s “best sh*t to date.”

The Off-Season will be Cole’s first full-length album since 2018’s KOD, and while fans are definitely happy to have him back, it’s not all that Cole has in store for them. He also plans to follow up the project with The Fall Off, an album he’s been teasing since 2018.

Press play on the video above to hear “Interlude.”

J. Cole’s Upcoming Album, ‘The Off-Season,’ Is His ‘Best Sh*t To Date,’ According To Dreamville’s Cozz

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At long last, the world finally received a release date for J. Cole’s next album: The Off-Season, which the rapper has been teasing since late last year, will arrive next week, on May 14. Cole shared the news on his social media accounts, and he also revealed the album’s artwork: an image of him standing in front of a burning basketball hoop. While everyone else has to wait, the rapper’s labelmates are already letting people know what to expect before it arrives.

Hours after J. Cole made the announcement, Cozz, who’s also signed to Dreamville Records, took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the forthcoming release. “From what I’ve heard so far this cole best sh*t to date,” he wrote. His comments come after labelmate Bas hinted at the album’s impending arrival in a now-deleted Instagram post, writing, “pack your bags. [rocket emoji] in two weeks.”

The road to The Off-Season dates back to Cole’s 2018 album, KOD, which is when he revealed that he already had a name for his subsequent effort. It was originally teased for a 2020 release, but the year came and went without its arrival. In December, he shared a to-do list that featured The Off-Season as something he wants to complete before releasing its follow-up, The Fall Off.

J. Cole Announces His New Album ‘The Off-Season’s Release Date

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Welp, that didn’t last long. No sooner had I hit “publish” on this last post about fans’ speculations than J. Cole announced the release date for his upcoming album, now titled The Off-Season, and shared its cover. The album is due next Friday, May 14. Check out the cover below.

This post is being updated.

J. Cole Is ‘Too Excited’ About His Upcoming Release, ‘The Off-Season’

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J. Cole // Philip Cosores

Since the end of last year, J. Cole has been teasing a new release titled “The Off-Season“, an effort that will precede his upcoming album, The Fall Off. While he did not specify if “The Off-Season” would be a single or project, the Dreamville rapper can’t wait to share it with the world as he revealed in a post to his Instagram Story. “Just rode through the city to The Off-Season,” he wrote. “Dawg (face palm emoji)… Too excited.”

The post comes just a couple of days after Bas revealed “The Off-Season” is something fans can expect their hands on soon. “The Off-Season,” he wrote under a photo of Cole in the studio. “pack your bags. [rocket emoji] in two weeks.” Its title holds a sports theme which falls in line with Cole’s early mixtapes, 2007’s The Come Up, 2009’s The Warm Up, and 2010’s Friday Night Lights, so it’s very much possible that “The Off-Season” could be a new mixtape rather a new single.

If that proves to be true, The Off-Season would be Cole’s first full-length solo project since his 2018 album, KOD. Since then, he’s gone on an impressive guest feature run, teamed up with his Dreamville labelmates for Revenge Of The Dreamers III, and dropped three singles: “Lion King On Ice,” “The Climb Back,” and the controversial “Snow On Tha Bluff.”

You can check out a screenshot of Cole’s post above.