It was a big week for music releases last week. Leading the releases, fans rejoiced when North Carolina rapper, J. Cole, announced in early May that a new album was on the horizon. The first Friday of May, we got a tease of new music in the form of ‘I n t e r l u d e’, two minutes of heavy hitting bars leaving fans wanting more. This past weekend, the wait is over as the artist returned with The Off Season.
Marking his first solo release in three years, J. Cole’s sixth studio album has been known for a little while now. At the end of last year, the rapper teased on Instagram the project along two more projects before his rumored retirement of music. In July 2020, J. Cole released a pair of singles including ‘The Climb Back’ featured on The Off Season. A few weeks ago, the rapper released a documentary on YouTube entitled “Applying Pressure: The Off Season” depicting the album’s creation and his role as executive producer on the project. From the first track, ‘95 South’, J. Cole comes out of the gate taking no prisoners in his verses. The grime, grit and ferocity shines through seamlessly throughout the project. The album has features from 21 Savage, Bas, Lil Baby, Morray & 6LACK.
12 tracks didn’t seem like enough tracks for The Off-Season, but the project packs punch to hold fans over hoping for a Deluxe version. It’s refreshing to see the growth of J. Cole’s hunger over the years. I had the pleasure of seeing him in a free concert at Xavier University in 2009 at the beginning of his career when he released his second mixtape The Warm Up. Since then, I’ve been inspired by his creativity and sincerity in his writing. Thank you Cole for the new music. You can listen to The Off Season available now on streaming services.
Drunken Karaoke Writings:
95 South
Amari
Pride Is The Devil
95 South
I’m coming harder than ever
Words resonate more than ever
On that 2009 Drake Forever more than ever
Someone flipped the switch
Yeah I handed them the lever
I handed them a level
Tried to put em on game
Then they lost to a boss
Now they remember my name
They remember the old me
I remember you calling me lame
I remember everything
Now nothing was the same
Look at yourself
You was the one to blame
I’ve ignited the flame
Cutting up
Going against the grain
Unleashed an animal
I’m not the one to tame
My pen and paper is lethal
A weapon like Donald Glover
Feels like Summer me coming
2021 Danny Glover
Better get on board
I’m not the one to hover
Get up to par if you want
But I’m the one with the putter
Amari
Plotting what to do next
Been in the background
reviewing text
Y’all in the background
Exchanging texts
Critiquing my every move
Thinking what’s next
Made ten books
With a lotta pieces
Made a lot of points
Made a lot of thesis
Many think my time up
Ending my leases
Yeah time’s up
No more teases
No more nice guy
No more pleases
Ironed out everything
And the creases
Now when I pop fast
Hope the food last
Hold on to the greases
Putting the pieces together
I’m a make some stories
Make some changes
No need to worry
Wherever the words at
They gonna be there for me
Pride Is The Devil
Pride is the devil
Thankfully I got patience
I used to get stuck on that level
And I moved on so gracious
Pride like to pop up
Like an ongoing side quest
Pride must be in DC
Clark Kent with an S on my chest
Pride must think life is easy
When I’m up against the rope
I’m 2008 Weezy
Punchline after punchline
1984 Punch Out
Been Little Mac my whole life
I’m coming for the knockout
No more leaning against the rope
Got my bearings ready to fight
Going against the odds
Doing it all with my might
I’m a be beyond the stars
While you be high as a kite
And when the strings get cut
You just let the devil be right
So I never have to worry
I’m a have it all
No one’s gonna get it for me
Reggie Johnson is a poet reigning from Cincinnati, Ohio. Starting at the age of nine, Reggie has been writing poetry through their love of music and life experiences. He has 9 books now available on Amazon. You can follow him on Twitter @r_d_johnson and on IG @rdjohnsonwrites.