J. Cole‘s The Fall Off has been coming for a while now. When Jermaine released his album, KOD, back in 2018, the final song was called “1985 (Intro to ‘The Fall Off’).” It didn’t take fans long to begin speculating that The Fall Off is the name of his next album, and six years later the project might actually arrive.
During a listening event for KOD back in 2018, the Dreamville founder mentioned “1985” is “the intro to some other sh*t,” but declined to expand. A week after the album was released, the rapper engaged with fans on X and revealed The Fall Off was really a thing when asked by someone what he was doing musically previous to putting together KOD.
“Was working on the fall off,” he replied on X. “And helping kiLL edward with his album,” he added, referring to his rap-alter ego.
When pressed for further details about The Fall Off, Cole simply responded, “Workin on it.”
From there, the project seemed to be put on the back burner while Cole toured the country for the second half of 2018 and focused on his label compilation Revenge of the Dreamers III for the first half of 2019. Cole then breathed new life into the album when he teased its release for 2020 during the 2019 Day N Vegas Festival. The album never arrived, but his sixth studio album The Off-Season did in 2021. He still continued to rap about The Fall Off on songs like “m y.l i f e.” From there, Cole went on an impeccable feature run in 2023, while also continuing to tease the project during his massive It’s All a Blur – Big as the What? Tour with Drake. Cole then capped off the hype by surprise dropping a new mixtape called Might Delete Later in 2024. Still, the album everyone is yearning for has still not arrived.
As fans continue to patiently await The Fall Off, XXL puts together everything known about J. Cole upcoming LP.
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Cole Has Been Working on The Fall Off Since 2016
During an interview with Angie Martinez that dropped in May 2018, Cole revealed he’d been working on The Fall Off for nearly two years.
“[The Fall Off] probably won’t come for another year,” he said, around the video’s 1:24:35 mark. “I been working on it for like a year and a half.”
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“False Prophets” and “Everybody Dies” Were Meant to Be on The Fall Off
During the same interview, Cole also admitted some of the songs he has released in the between time were meant to be on The Fall Off album.
“‘False Prophets’ was supposed to be on The Fall Off. ‘Everybody Dies’ and ‘False Prophets’ that I put out before 4 Your Eyez Only were songs from The Fall Off.”
Instead of adding the songs to 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole let the tracks live on as loose singles. They may possibly appear on The Fall Off.
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The Album May Contain an Actual Guest Appearance
“Platinum with no features.” What was first worn like a badge of honor for the once-reclusive rapper has seemingly become played out for Cole, which means a guest appearance on the new album might be probable.
“I was loving it,” he said of the slogan in an interview with GQ in March 2019. “I was like, ‘Word up—this is funny as hell.’ But the second or third time, I was like, ‘Alright, it’s almost embarrassing now.’ Like, ‘Alright, man, y’all gonna make me put a feature on the album just so this shit can stop.’”
The highly collaborative Revenge of the Dreamers III compilation helped break Cole out of his shell. While there are no guarantees, things seem more promising than ever.
“I don’t have any [features] right now that I really want to boast about,” he added. “Not saying it’s impossible. It’s just about getting out of my comfort zone.”
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The Fall Off Is Coming in 2020
During his set at the 2019 Day N Night Festival, Cole all but confirmed we’ll be getting the album in 2020 via a hilarious political ad spoof that requests support for the N.C. MC. (It was later posted natively to social media.)
“It seems like shit is all fucked up. The country needs a hero to turn to in these turbulent times. Jermaine Cole is that hero,” a narrator says over photos and video of the North Carolina rapper along with corresponding visuals. “A man whose humility knows no bounds. A man whose pen is so potent, each word of his verses reportedly cost $2,000. We need someone with big ideas and bold solutions. An expert in diplomacy. A candidate that can heal the inter-generational war.”
The voice-over concluded, “Make your voice heard. Vote The Fall Off for 2020.”
With no more specifics being given, that narrows the release date down to a possible 52 days (if he decides to drop the album on a traditional Friday). So, for now, we wait.
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J. Cole Returns With The Off-Season
While Cole did not release The Fall Off in 2020 as teased, J. Cole instead dropped The Off Season on May 14, 2021. He had announced the project just ten days prior, unveiling its cover art and releasing its lead single “Interlude.”
Cole’s sixth studio album received positive reviews from critics and topped the US Billboard 200, selling 282,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, earning Cole his sixth consecutive number-one album.
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J Cole Clears Instagram, Manager Seems to Tease The Fall-Off
After dropping off his label project D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape in September of 2021, the chatter surrounding The Fall-Off didn’t pick up steam again until 2023. Cole cleared his IG page in February of 2023, and his longtime manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad fueled the rumors by tweeting that Cole’s The Fall-Off would be an album he needed to see performed in full on tour.
Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images for IGA
Cassidy Sparrow/Getty Images for IGA -
J. Cole Says He’s Almost Done With The Fall OffM
Fast forward to February of 2024, Cole embarked on his juggernaut It’s All a Blur – Big As The What? Tour alongside Drake. At the tour’s first stop in Columbus, Ohio, Cole confirmed he was almost done recording the album.
“Right now, I’m at the tail-end of working on this album I’ve been working on for a long time,” Cole said. “It’s called The Fall Off.”
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Daylyt Hypes Up The Fall Off
During an Instagram Live session in April of 2024, the TDE affiliate claimed he’d already heard Cole’s next project, and said the Dreamville leader is going “nuclear.”
“Cole is going out with a nuclear missile, I’m telling y’all that,” Daylyt said. “It’s his last go-around and he literally was like, ‘I don’t give a f**k about radio; I just wanna show the world my pen before I die.’ I heard it, all of it. It is the most amazingest rapping I have seen and heard thus far…I feel like that’s what Hip Hop needs right now. I think Hip Hop needs to just be like, ‘Man, let’s take it back to the pure art form of this sh*t.’ Because this sh*t we doing right now, it ain’t what we got in it for.”
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The Alchemist Teases Production on The Fall Out
In August of 2024, The Alchemist replied with a zipped-lip emoji on X when an eager fan asked if he had any production credits on The Fall Off. While he didn’t confirm it, he didn’t deny it either.
Matt Cowan/Getty Images
Matt Cowan/Getty Images -
Trae Tha Truth Says The Fall Off Will ‘Shock’ People
In an interview with The Breakfast Club in September of 2024, Trae Tha Truth said The Fall Off was in fact on the way, and that it would surprise a lot of his fans.
“Don’t get it f**ked up, his album coming,” Trae said. “And when the album coming, it’s probably gonna shock a lot of people. Remember what I tell you all the time: a lot of people form opinions on a lot of things and they don’t fully know the situation. He’ll be aight. Before it’s too late, you never know what bro what may do.”
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