J. Cole is out in Rwanda where he’s fulfilling his hoop dreams as part of the Basketball Africa League. It was unexpected yet fitting for the theme surrounding his latest opus. Cole is certainly the furthest thing from being the BAL’s LeBron James, but it seems like he’s simply happy with challenging himself.
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Ahead of his debut in the BAL, the rapper unveiled his latest body of work, The Off-Season. The album already had major sales projections in its first week but now, the numbers are in and Cole has, once again, broken records. Per HDD, The Off-Season marks Cole’s sixth consecutive chart-topper with 288K units moved in its first week. While impressive, he fell a few thousand units short of surpassing Taylor Swift’s Fearless for the biggest first-week debut of the year.
Cole gave fans a special message yesterday following the news of his #1 debut. The rapper offered his gratitude for the support while seemingly acknowledging the criticism surrounding his pro-ball debut.
“Sending a thank you from Rwanda! #1 album, I appreciate the love, i heard the noise from out here. the off-season means keep pushing yourself, I will do the same,” Cole said.
What’s your favorite song off of J. Cole’s new album? Sound off in the comments.