THE OFF-SEASON (finally)

WIMITLA. ALBUM REVIEW

by Alix Sholomon and Elie Weitzman

It’s no secret that J. Cole’s The Off-Season has been one of the most long-awaited albums of the last few years, with hype slowly building up after the release of his last album, 4 Your Eyez Only, which many considered to be an anticlimactic but masterfully crafted follow up to his widely accepted magnum opus: 2014 Forest Hills Drive. However, for all its hype, The Off-Season has not yet matched its predecessors in craft or acclaim, and in our eyes, wasn’t worth the wait

If we could compare this release to another pop culture event, it would be most apt to call upon season 8 of Game of Thrones. Don’t get us wrong: this album is a great piece of music that absolutely has the potential to be considered a classic in a decade from now. However, in terms of success relative to hype and his discography as a whole, we’re a little disappointed. Everything was good: the production, the lyrics, the features, and so on. But nothing exactly stood out in the way that it did in his previous two releases. Many of the songs blend into each other, which usually is a sign of intentional storytelling, but in this case, comes off as uncreative. 

It wouldn’t be fair to J. Cole to go through this entire review without saying anything good, though. He had immense pressure to deliver with this album, and for the most part did what he was supposed to: make quality music. Songs like “a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e” are perfect demonstrations of his prowess on the mic and should be looked at as one of the highest moments in his discography. However, some artists just can’t escape their own hype factor. For that reason, we give this album a 7/10.