Classic?? Or Straight Trash??

Don't even THINK to ask me if I expected this?? 'Cause I sho didn't. I've been a fan of J. Cole since Friday Nights Light, and as much of a huge Drake fan I am, there was a (long) point in my life where I was a bigger J. Cole fan than a Drake fan. His mixtape run was unparalleled by his peers, The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights are arguably two of the greatest mixtapes ever made. Nonetheless, his album-run has lacked the same energy and delivery, and perhaps the same soul that we find behind his mixtapes. I rate Born Sinner over 2014 Forrest Hill Drive, although I don't mind someone putting one over the other, or K.O.D. over both of them as well. At the end of the day, I am saying this as an avid Cole listener, but he does not have a classic album; to be fair most of his peers don't as well. Records metamorphosed during this past decade and what makes a record a classic has changed as well, but still, none of J. Cole's albums have garnered enough consensus to be considered a classic.

Is The Off Season a classic? It's far to early to tell, but I'll say this now, this might become my favourite J. Cole album so far. When I became a fan of J. Cole, I was taken in by the realist lyrics and inspirational message within his rhymes; but they always sounded raw and heavy. In most of his albums, notably 2014 Forrest Hill Drive, J. Cole begins his albums with the energy we want him on, but then spends most of the album in a more tranced and slow-passed rhythm. It's not necessarily bad to explore out of your comfort zone, but you would think that Cole would have realized that he's not the best vocalist by now and that his craft is much better expressed in straight bars. But who am I to say, he does slow it down on The Off-Season such as in "punchin' the clock". He somehow manages to keep the energy and what he usually fails to do, he's done it so well!

I don't know who showed Cole this new thang but he is in his bag. All I heard was confidence and hunger, and like in "100 mil", it's not the money he's hungry for anymore, it's prove it to himself, (and all the doubters), that he can get into his uncontested bag just like 12 years ago. Cole said we here to stay, even once I'm gone, and right now I agree. The Off-Season is a monster and sounds dummy hard. I can't help but hear Roc Marciano's influence on the game after this album, because these samples were crazy.

We'll check-in again by the end of the week, but to me this stands atop as his best album, or at least one of his best. Imma let you all know this sunday!