J. Cole announces The Fall-Off album release date
J. Cole has officially announced that his long-awaited album The Fall-Off will be released on February 6, marking a major milestone for the rapper after years of anticipation. The announcement was accompanied by a short trailer that offered a low-key, reflective visual tone aligned with Cole’s grounded public image.
In the trailer, Cole is shown washing his car at a self-service station and later sitting alone at a diner counter eating a meal. The clip concludes with a brief musical snippet believed to be from the upcoming album, followed by the reveal of the album’s title. According to Variety, the understated visuals emphasize everyday moments rather than spectacle.
Disc 2 - Track 2 pic.twitter.com/FdOCs8ZICg
Hours after unveiling the trailer, Cole shared a new song from the project on social media, labeling it “Disc 2 — Track 2.” The caption has led fans to speculate that The Fall-Off may be released as a double-disc album, though no official confirmation has been provided.
Fans have been waiting for The Fall-Off since at least 2018, when Cole teased the project on “1985 — Intro to ‘The Fall Off,’” the closing track of his album KOD. He continued to reference the album in subsequent years and told audiences during a 2019 Las Vegas performance that it would arrive the following year. While the album did not materialize then, Cole later released a list in late 2020 suggesting the project was still in progress, as reported by Variety.
Instead, Cole released The Off-Season in 2021. The album, executive produced by Cole alongside T-Minus and Ibrahim Hamad, featured guest appearances from 21 Savage, Lil Baby, and 6lack, with production contributions from Timbaland, DJ Dahi, Frank Dukes, Boi-1da, and others. Upon release, The Off-Season broke Spotify’s one-day streaming record for 2021 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming Cole’s seventh chart-topping album.
More recently, Cole released the surprise mixtape Might Delete Later, which arrived during his brief involvement in the high-profile feud between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. The initial release included the track “7 Minute Drill,” aimed at Lamar, but Cole later removed the song from streaming platforms and publicly apologized during his Dreamville Festival 2024 performance, according to Variety.