J. Cole has set February 6 as the release date for his highly anticipated album ‘The Fall-Off,’ ending years of speculation.
The announcement on Thursday arrived with a trailer that mirrors the 40-year-old rapper’s introspective and grounded persona.
Filmed in muted tones, the trailer depicts Cole in two ordinary scenes: rinsing his car at a self-service wash and dining alone at a quiet diner counter.
“Everything is supposed to go away eventually” a voice is heard speaking in the background of the footage.
“You see, this is especially in show business…actors, musicians and it’s like oh, this guy used to be famous and he fell off. What happened?”
The video closes with a brief, unheard musical teaser and the official reveal of the album title.
The Dreamville rapper also delivered a new song titled ‘Disc 2 – Track 2’ alongside a music video that begins with a written statement about the album’s decade-long journey.
Cole hinted that ‘The Fall-Off’ is billed to be his final album, saying he challenged himself to “create my best work. To do on my last what I was unable to do on my first”.
“For the past 10 years, this album has been hand crafted with one intention: a personal challenge to myself to create my best work. To do on my last what I was unable to do on my first,” it read.
“I had no way of knowing how much time, focus and energy it would eventually take to achieve this, but despite the countless challenges along the way, I knew in my heart I would one day get to the finish line. I owed it first and foremost to myself. And secondly, I owed it to hip hop.”
