| The Fall-Off | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 6, 2026 (2026-02-06) | |||
| Recorded | 2016–2026 | |||
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| J. Cole chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Fall-Off | ||||
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The Fall-Off is the upcoming seventh studio album by the American rapper J. Cole. It will be released on February 6, 2026, through Dreamville Records and Interscope Records.
Background
J. Cole began teasing The Fall-Off via "1985 (Intro to The Fall Off)", the final track of his 2018 album KOD. He continued to tease it following KOD's release, commonly through his Kill Edward alter ego.[1] On July 20, 2020, Cole wrote in The Players' Tribune about his goals for The Fall-Off:
The fire that was once dying out has returned, and for that I'm grateful. On my career bucket list, there remain a few more items to check off before I give myself permission to enter whatever the next chapter of my life may be. However, as I approach the summit of this mountain, I still find myself staring at that other one in the distance, wondering if I can climb.[2]
in 2024, Cole explained the concept of this album in detail on his audio series "Inevitable". Following his successful run of 2014 Forest Hills Drive, the status at the height of his career inspired the album title. He explained that he felt stuck in a comfort zone and was looking for a word that best describes this feeling. While thinking of titles for this album, he wanted it to be in the theme of his mixtapes: The Come Up (2007) and The Warm Up (2009), and came to the conclusion of "it's The Fall Off, you're experiencing The Fall Off. That's gonna be the album, but it's not time yet."[3]
On the motivation behind planning this release to be his final album, Cole wrote:
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. I had no way of knowing how much time, focus and energy it would eventually take to achieve this, but despite 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.[4]
Recording and production
In an interview, Cole revealed that he began recording The Fall-Off in 2016, which coincides with lyrics on a feature appearance on DJ Khaled's "Jermaine's Interlude" where Cole teased his "thoughts of retirement".[5] The 2016 singles "False Prophets" and "Everybody Dies" were recorded for The Fall-Off.[6] In his 2021 Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary, Cole spoke about the recording process saying:
There are songs on here in this whole Fall-Off era that I've been sitting on for years, just tweaking, making better, even like a "Middle Child", that was for The Fall-Off... So we put out "Middle Child" as a single, now normally I would just hoard that song, and similarly yes I've been hoarding songs because I'm like, I made this for The Fall-Off, this is too special, now over the years, they have gotten better, I still got more work to do, especially on The Fall Off specifically, got a few more songs to write, I got more tinkering I need to do.[7]
Release and promotion
In 2020, he released the EP Lewis Street, which included two singles, "The Climb Back" and "Lion King On Ice", that were intended for inclusion on The Fall-Off. On December 29, 2020, Cole shared a list, "The Fall Off Era", on Instagram. The list showed features and Revenge of the Dreamers III, The Off-Season, and It's a Boy, which he intended to release before The Fall-Off.[8]
On January 14, 2026, Cole released a trailer for The Fall-Off and announced it would be released on February 6, 2026.[9][10] The same day, he released the single "Disc 2 Track 2",[11] implying that The Fall-Off would be a double album.[12]
References
- ^ Mansell, Henry (April 27, 2018). "J. Cole Teases "KOD" Deluxe, "The Fall-Off" Project & KiLL Edward Album". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ Cole, J. "The Audacity". The Players' Tribune.
- ^ "Five Things We Learned From The First Episode of J. Cole's 'Inevitable' Audio Series". OkayPlayer.
- ^ "J. Cole Drops New Single From 'The Fall-Off,' Hints At Double Album". HipHopDX.
- ^ "New Music: DJ Khaled feat. J. Cole - 'Jermaine's Interlude'". Rap-Up.
- ^ Mitchell, Tracy (2018-05-16). "J. Cole Reveals "Everybody Dies" and "False Prophets" Were Supposed to Be on 'The Fall-Off'". Respect. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil. "J. Cole Dropping 'Applying Pressure: The Off-Season' Documentary". Billboard.
- ^ "J. Cole Details 'Fall-Off Era' Plans and Teases Upcoming Music Drops". Complex.
- ^ Suskind, Alex (2026-01-14). "J. Cole Finally Announces The Fall-Off". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
- ^ Paul, Larisha (January 14, 2026). "J. Cole Previews New Album 'The Fall-Off' With Introspective Teaser". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
- ^ Cole, Alexander (14 January 2026). "Disc 2 Track 2 - Song by J. Cole". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
- ^ Diaz, Angel (14 January 2026). "J. Cole Tells Life Story in Reverse in New Song & Video 'Disc 2 Track 2'". Billboard. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
