Key Takeaways:

• The Fall-Off is a 24-track double album that spans two eras of J. Cole’s life, with features from Future, Tems and Burna Boy.
• The project reflects on Cole’s personal growth and shifting mindset between ages 29 and 39.
• Online reactions highlight the album’s emotional depth and raise questions about whether this is truly his final release.

J. Cole’s The Fall-Off has finally arrived, roughly eight years after he first teased it with “1985 - Intro to ‘The Fall Off’” from 2018’s KOD. Released on Friday (Feb. 6) at midnight, the North Carolina rapper’s highly anticipated seventh studio album includes two discs and features from Future, Tems and others.

The Fall-Off continues a familiar trend we’ve seen in Hip Hop’s recent comeback albums: boasting a lengthy tracklist with more than enough music to sit with. In Cole’s defense, though, he did say the 24-song effort was meant to serve as his “last” project.

“Disc 29 tells a story of me returning to my hometown at age 29,” he wrote when unveiling the album’s tracklist on Wednesday (Feb. 4). “Disc 39 gives insight into my mindset during a similar trip home, this time as a 39-year-old man. Older and a little closer to peace.”

Highlights From Disc 29 And Disc 39

The LP opens with the James Taylor-voiced “29 Intro,” which is essentially an interpolation of the singer’s ’60s classic “Carolina in My Mind.” From there, Cole goes berserk over the bass of “Two Six” and lets his storytelling skills take the lead on “SAFETY.” Listeners are then introduced to “Run A Train,” which, despite the title and Future feature, doesn’t quite go where you might expect.

The two rappers later reunite on the Tems-assisted “Bunce Road Blues,” followed by Cole revisiting the concept of “fallin' off” on the two-part “Bombs in the Ville/Hit the Gas.” On the album’s second disc, Petey Pablo and Burna Boy lend their voices to “Old Dog” and “Only You,” respectively.

For those wondering, yes, Cole does seemingly touch on the Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud on Disc 39. On “I Love Her Again,” he dishes out, “Now when it comes to love, jealousy will often creep / That type of games is why two of my homies start to beef.” Somewhat ironically, the following track, “What If,” finds Cole writing from the perspectives of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, imagining a world where things might’ve gone differently.

Elsewhere, on the penultimate track, “and the whole world is the Ville,” Cole once again puts on for where he’s from: Fayetteville, North Carolina. As mentioned earlier, 24 tracks is a lot to unpack, so give The Fall-Off a listen for yourself below.

The Best Reactions To J. Cole’s The Fall-Off

Over on X, one fan called J. Cole’s The Fall-Off his “magnum opus.” They wrote, “Off first listen, [this is] definitely feeling like his best album.” Another person said, “This new J. Cole is the best album I've ever heard.” Elsewhere, listeners showed love to the project’s use of samples while others speculated whether he was taking shots at anyone. Keep scrolling for more reactions!