ALBUM REVIEW: The Fall-Off
Album: The Fall-Off
Artist: J. Cole
Label: Cole World Inc./Interscope Records
Grade: A+
The final chapter in J. Cole’s “Jermaine Cole” storyline arrived on Feb. 2 (2/2/26), a fitting date as “2-6” is the nickname of his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Including his first three mixtapes and three of his studio albums, Cole intends The Fall-Off to be the bookend of the J. Cole storyline, waving farewell to the character and moving into a new stage of his rap career.
A two-disc album, Cole returns to versions of himself that listeners have been yearning to hear since the story’s last installment, 2014 Forest Hills Drive. He also incorporates some of the tricks he stored in his bag from his ‘sidequest’ projects.
Cole even gets Future to feature on “Run A Train,” but surprisingly gets the Atlanta rapper to avoid his usual trope of toxic rap. Instead, he utilises his soulful, melodic voice to convey Cole’s emotions returning to his hometown after ascending to such levels of fame.
The aggressive, hard-rapping Cole we seldom see now also returns on songs like “Two Six” and “Poor Thang,” and some songs, like “The Let Out,” even feature electric guitar hits.
Cole’s evolution as a rapper, writer and producer all shone throughout this project, further establishing his place as one of the genre’s greatest of all time. The Fall-Off is nothing less than a virtuoso and represents a justified ending to one of rap’s greatest stories ever.
— Zafir Nagji
