When J. Cole first announced his final album, The Fall-Off, 10 years ago, the anticipation could not have been higher—and excitement has only been building since Cole described how he wanted to make it his best work ever. Notably, the album is split into two parts: Disc 29 and Disc 39, each reflecting on his visit to his hometown at ages 29 and 39. His hometown, Fayetteville, North Carolina, is a central theme throughout his discography and is the grounding point of reflection for Cole in The Fall Off.
On the first track after the intro, “Two Six,” J. Cole hits the ground running. His confidence is tangible through just the first line of the album: “If I wasn’t rappin’, b**ch, I might just be the president.” The production quality—frantic strings, bouncy drums—adds to the song’s bold tone, illustrating his confidence at this point in his career. While “Two Six” is an exciting song, it stands out for its vibrancy on the album.
Despite the solid production and emotional verses on the progressing tracks of “SAFETY,” “Run A Train,” and “Poor Thang,” Cole loses his energy. This stretch of tracks all encompass the same nostalgic longing, and the repetitive songs fail to stand out. Cole’s reflection isn’t anything new; these same topics are widely included in his past albums like 2014 Forest Hills Drive and The Off-Season.
Fortunately, J. Cole eventually breaks up this somber rhythm with an absolutely electric beat switch on “WHO TF IZ U,” where the previous dark piano-backed beat transitions into a splashy horn beat, creating a much-needed change in pace in the album. While Disc 29 has some memorable tracks and skilled rapping from Cole, it falls short on variety.
Moving onto the next disc, first up is “39 Intro,” where Cole longs for something more meaningful in fame. The initially soft guitar builds into a spirited drum-heavy beat. He immediately launches into an impressive and fast-paced verse boasting about his greatness, but his fear of not leaving a legacy also weighs on him now that he’s a more mature version of himself.
The next song, “The Fall-Off is Inevitable,” is the best embodiment of the spirit of The Fall-Off in the album. The smooth soul sample and strong drums help Cole deliver one of his most dynamic verses to date. He takes the listener through his entire life in reverse, beginning with his own death before going on to vignettes of his son being unborn, being unmarried, and all the way into his childhood. To me, this song provides a much more interesting, conceptual reflection on his life than Disc 29, while still being a super fun listen thanks to Cole’s wordplay.
However, the latter half of Disc 39 disappoints once again. The pop-rap hits like “Life Sentence” and “Only You” are refreshing, but otherwise, the album continues to its repetitiveness with instrumentals that fail to stand out.
Overall, J. Cole presents a lengthy culmination to his career, with the album running over 100 minutes. Despite Cole’s strong sonic palette of soul samples, guitar, and piano, as well as his exceptional verses, he fails to provide enough variation across tracks, making his final album a more tedious listen despite all its highs.
