J. Cole has carved out a helluva career for himself spanning almost 20 years. He just celebrated the release of his seventh studio album, The Fall Off, a few months ago. The highly anticipated album is one of my favorite albums to be released this year. J. Cole first started rapping in his teens, collaborating with the local Fayetteville hip hop duo Bomm Sheltuh. The Come Up, his debut mixtape, was released on May 4, 2007. The Come Up received a lot of praise, with many calling it a classic. Jay-Z took notice and eventually signed J. Cole to his RocNation label. Cole would release his second mixtape, called The Warm Up, in June of 2009. The Warm Up produced his first single, Lights Please on a national record chart. The following year, Cole would drop his third mixtape called Friday Night Lights.
J. Cole released his debut studio album Cole World: The Sideline Story on September 27, 2011. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 218,000 copies. The album was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Less than two years later, Cole would return with his second album, Born Sinner. Born Sinner was a well-received album, and it also went platinum. About a year and a half later, J. Cole would drop his classic 2014 project, Forest Hills Drive. 2014 Forest Hills Drive is considered J. Cole’s greatest album, and it has won many awards. The album won Album of the Year at the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards and Top Rap Album at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. It was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards.
The single “Apparently” was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards. 2014 Forest Hills Drive went on to sell over six million copies. Two years to the date, J. Cole would drop his 4 Your Eyez Only album. 4 Your Eyez Only was a much different album from his 2014 Forest Hills Drive project. 4 Your Eyez Only went on to sell over a couple of million records. A year and a half later, J. Cole returned with his fifth album called KOD. KOD individual tracks broke numerous streaming and chart placement records. J. Cole became the first musician ever to debut three new songs in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three years later, J. Cole hit us with his sixth album called The Off-Season. J. Cole’s The Off-Season turns 5 years old today, and it marked another platinum album.
The Off-Season scored a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. The Off-Season achieved the largest streaming week of 2021, accumulating over 325.5 million streams. The album scored a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Also, “Pride Is the Devil” was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, while “My Life” was nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. Below are my top 5 tracks from The Off-Season album. After that, you can check out the track listing and stream link for The Off-Season.
Top 5 Tracks: 95 South, Applying Pressure, Interlude, Close, and The Climb Back
The Off-Season Track Listing
- 95 South
- Amari
- My Life ft. 21 Savage & Morray
- Applying Pressure
- Punchin’ the Clock
- 100 Mil ft. Bas
- Pride is the Devil ft. Lil Baby
- Let Go My Hand ft. Bas & 6lack
- Interlude
- The Climb Back
- Close
- Hunger on Hillside ft. Bas
