i think it is that, just the songs like Legacy, The Let Out, Life Sentence, Only You, and Man Up Above kinda throw off the pacing a little bit with their placements. I want Cole to talk about why he sequenced it the way he did cause Ib had it sequenced differently

I feel you I felt like that at first then i embraced what the album is

Instead of being bar heavy (Which he already did to perfection on Off Season, and also did on MDL and The Blizzard Tape not to mention several features) this album is much more intricate with the writing, rhyme schemes, and story telling

Easily his best work. Just a shame we live in such a reactionary society where the internet is quick to dismiss s*** if it isn’t what they expected

I think time will be VERY kind to this album though, and people will continue to wake up and come around on it, they have no choice, s*** is undeniable

Yeah I can def hear the Nas KD influence for sure

Heavy grower. Even the songs I didn’t care about just sound great now.

The Let Out, Life Sentence, and Man Up Above are incredible and perfectly fine where they are

I feel you on Legacy and Only You though kinda slow the album down and it’s already a double album

They don’t kill the album or anything and they are good songs to vibe to but he definitely could’ve subbed them 2 for something more exciting

Clouds, Port Antonio, or maybe a fun feature would’ve been nice

I agree. Like you said, The Off-Season, Might Delete Later, Birthday Blizzard, lossies like cLOUDs and his features have basically all been bar heavy with him flexing his lyrical prowess. So I expecting more of that and for him to top The Off Season which I consider his best album.

The Fall-Off isn't that and is as you said heavy on the story telling and intricate writing and schemes. Once you embrace that he isn't trying to flex his skills and is instead painting a narrative picture, the album grows on you.

It also helped me to listen to certain songs in isolation outside the context of the album for me to appreciate them more as well. Like someone else said, it helped me to like songs that I didn't care for on my first couple of listens

Cole did his thing on this

Yeah I think this and The Off Season both clear FHD for me that’s just me personally though I get why people nostalgic about it though

Cole album wise I’d probably go:
TFO
TOS
FHD
SLS
4YEO
BS
KOD

If we include tapes id go:
TFO
FNL
TOS
FHD
TY1&2
TWU
SLS
MDL
4YEO
BS
KOD
TCU

truck sale pt 5 has a dope cole breakdown. he re-contextualized his discography for me when he said The Come Up-FHD was his story leading into TFO. everything from 4YEO-Might Delete Later he described as a sidequest

dope detail, especially for the longtime fans

He also said he might do another album down the line. Just not from the perspective of Jermaine playing the character "J. Cole"

Convo with the dude in the Nike store sheesh

Also Confirmed that TFO is FHD sequel

And like I been saying, disc 29 and disc 39 are two separate albums that dont need to be listen to in one sitting

Dope af 🔥🔥

Lonely at the Top would’ve hit as the intro

What even is the character of J. Cole

J Cole seems like the last rapper to have his stage name be a “character” lmao isn’t the main appeal is that he’s just a regular guy and relatable

Watch from 9:43 in the video above

he said J. Cole is a rap persona

“I made it to the top just to fail on purpose and show you niggas who the best again”

I get the idea. I just don’t think it’d be much different from the Cole we’ve been getting just seems like a way to separate the projects, which is fine

Think he's just referring to the narrative and content. 4yeo and Kod not really about cole's life from a surface level perspective

Where does this leave It’s A Boy Jermaine

He’ll be going as KillEdward from now on

Had to get back to main quest, spent too much time having fun on side quests for 8 years