J. Cole - THE OFF SEASON First REACTION/REVIEW 

Mans ain’t even acknowledge Morray, he killed that shit

Crazy how 21's music is only exponentially getting better

It's the fact my name is Amari and I was born January 28th. I'm convinced J Cole knows me at this point.

If you're curious as to why Diddy and Cole fought. Diddy was drunk and tried to disrespect Kendrick cause the control verse where he said "I'm the King of New York" pissed him off and J.cole stood up for him

The 21 Savage and Lil Baby features were a surprise/highlight

Dropping love famo

This album was just a “ I can rap bitch “ and no complaints hard af

Shawn not liking the album means that J Cole actually put out a masterpiece.

1:04 95 South 2:39 amari 3:34 My Life 5:47 Applying Pressure 7:20 Punchin The Clock 7:48 100 mil 9:06 Pride is the Devil 10:00 Let Go My Hand Interlude - Skipped The Climb Back - Skipped 11:28 Close 14:09 Hunger On Hillside

It definitely feels more like a mixtape. a collection of songs where Cole is just rapping at his high level and working on his form. i’m still waiting to see the result of the three years we waited. where The Fall Off at

This album feels like a warm up and something bigger is coming.

That moment on “a m a r i” when Cole raised his vocals for the “windows was cold” line had me gassed personally, thought it was a great song

Time Stamps 1:04 95 South 2:39 amari 3:34 My Life 5:47 Applying Pressure 7:20 Punchin The Clock 7:48 100 mil 9:06 Pride is the Devil 10:00 Let Go My Hand Interlude - Skipped The Climb Back - Skipped 11:28 Close 14:09 Hunger On Hillside

Hunger on Hillside is probably my fav song on the album. What a way to end the album.

I’m not even a Cole fan like that but you’re on some other shit if you don’t think he bodied this whole project.

The real is back The ville is back Flow bananas here Peel this back

Cole flowing over the violins on hunger on hillside was fucking beautiful, shit had me feeling like I could walk through a wall.

I'm mad he didn't freak out at the transition from cole to baby like he did when 21 came in on "my life".....my reaction was just straight up jumping in excitement through most of this album

"I'm not calling a grown man puff" 4 seconds later: "Puff"

21 savage feature gave me goosebumps 🥵

Biggest takeaway for me from this vid is that not every song or album needs to be super new or thought provoking to be good. Because this album is better than 90% of rap albums that came out in 2021 and this dude can still find everything wrong with it. 😐

You constantly don't like the songs that a big majority of people like as their favorites. It is a skill.

"put an m on ya head you luigi brother now'' melon gon tear this shit up bro

Photograph by Cole is hard af idk how people can’t relate to that song and it wasn’t cringy

I always liked how Shawn wasn’t afraid to share his own opinion without worrying about people’s responses. For me Cole is a great rapper from the warm up all the way up to the off season I feel that he solidified himself with the greats and he not just “good” like Shawn said.

I think this album fits the name very well. It's akin to what an NBA player would do in the offseason, practice different part of their game before the season starts. In this sense J, cole throws together versions of rap music and shows that he is a complete player(rapper). From telling stories to trap music to straight-up bars.

Diddy was trying to press Kendrick Lamar over his control verse saying he's the king of NY and Cole got in the middle to calm Diddy down and Diddy swung on Cole for interfering

Shawn be like: “idk what this track is about” Then progresses to talk about what he thinks the track is about

21 Savage is really becoming a goat in the rap community

This album was weird for me. After the first listen, I was COMPLETELY underwhelmed, but after the 3rd and 4th listens, the tracks started making much more sense and sounding better both lyrically and sonically, and now I absolutely love it (although still not as good as forest hills hehehe)!

So the Michael B Jordan bar is a little confusing, but I’m pretty sure it’s a reference to the drake leak “Lucky Lefty” where drake says if MBJ calls your girls phone she gonna leave you

"migos dropped a song....i dont care." -shawn 2021

Pride is the Devil is peak of this album. Seeing this man glaze over such a fire song is all I need to see.

i think let go my hand is easily the best track. the sample and what he’s saying is just so great

J Cole finally got some features 🙏🏾

Morray chorus was so fire on My Life and Shawn ain’t say nun bout it...

The thing about this album that it shows the same hungry warm-up friday night light j cole that made us fall in love with his music. Truly, a great album, and it only for the start of the upcoming albums this year from kendrick and drake as well

“Imma put an M on your head you’re Luigi brother now” 😫

Cole: spits crazy for straight minute 21: i pray my past ain't ahead of me Shawn: OMG 😱😳 Cole got bodied on his own track

you know u early when the time stamp dude ain’t here yet

Shawn u don’t understand how thirsty i was for this reaction😩😩😩

Shawn ain’t a hater but he’ll never give Cole the props he deserves, it is what it is aha

The MBJ line on “100 mil” is referring to some lines in a Drake leak, “Lucky lefty”, when he says “ Michael B. Jordan call you right now, you answerin' Even if you got a man that love you, you scandalous You gon' take the chance and shit You know that relationship is probably in shambles And you know you a fan of his Know if he gon' bring you to Miami, you scramblin' And pack all your luggage, get on the plane and land in it”

I bet shawn bumping this whole album right now, fronting for RU-vid😭😭😭

Hunger on Hillside is goated. Might be my fav cole song now

I don’t get it Shawn said in the interlude that he just wanted to hear cole rap, that’s what he did was rap, people say he is too boring when all he does is reflect and talk about deeper stuff, but now they want him to be deeper, I love Cole I would say it’s a 10/10 but nothing can be perfect, but I just enjoyed hearing him rap like this, it’s been a minute since I heard him just spazz out

That pride is the Devil beat got me stroking

The Cole and baby transition was the coldest thing on the albumn.

21 and Baby features were unexpected but greatly appreciated

21s artist growth is insane. This mixtape was great to me with a lot of solid songs. Are Cole and 21 the new dynamic duo 🥶

Imma keep it real Shawn, I think your criticism towards this project was completely unwarranted. Like at this point idk what Cole gotta do to please some of you fr

I love listening to Shawns views and opinions about j Cole. He brings up some good points, but overall I don’t think he truly understands who Jermaine Cole is. To understand the significance of this album you’d have to know a lot of his old music. “The Come Up”, “The Warm Up”, and “Friday Night Lights” are so important to the see the growth and story of his life. The Off-Season is another part of this story. I love how a few of the songs are reflections to his past, and some are completely new parts of Cole we’ve never seen. I mean he got out of his comfort zone and put lil baby and 21 on his album. And you know he doesn’t care about the sales or plays, he just wanted to try something new. Even though I’m not a big fan of auto tune Cole, I completely respect him for trying it. I also don’t think it’s fair to judge this album solely by itself. The previous works I mentioned before are important, but also the fact that this album is a prequel for the fall off. I love how his career is one giant story of his dreams and passions. He made his dream of rapping come true, but he’s still chasing his basketball dream. I think a lot of people missed this part. Overall I really enjoyed this album and what he brought. I don’t think he could’ve done much more in this project. But that does mean I’m expecting him to follow up with some heat on “The Fall Off”. If I judged this album by itself I would either give it a 7.5 or an 8. But knowing all of his music and what this adds to his life story I would give it an 8.5 or a 9. It doesn’t come close to FHD which is a 10, but not every album can be a 10.

21 really snapped on his verse. His growth as an artist is amazing.

this album is gonna age so well i’m calling it

Morray on the hook of My Life was perfect bruh

Ngl I’d never think of the possibility of 21 and Lil Baby might’ve actually gone toe to toe with Cole on his own track

when 21 came out of nowhere i was so fucking happy that song is so good the lines are so good

The production in this album is honestly INSANE

It is growing on me every time I listen to it

Tbh this project had the opposite effect on me, I thought this project was kinda meh when I first heard it, but then in the car last week I was wit a friend and we shuffle played this album and “let go my hand” came on and I INSTANTLY became drawn in. Which is funny because in the song he says how things don’t always connect as soon as u press play and that was my relationship with this song specifically. After letting the whole album play out it felt like I was listening to something different entirely, idk why. but I love this project.

Puff Diddly line: For those who don't know. After Kendrick dropped the control verse. Puff wasn't pleased with the "king of New York" line. So when Cole and Kendrick were out at a club. Diddy was drunk there and tried to pour his drink on Kendrick's head. Cole intervened and told him to stop and Diddy layed his hands on Cole and both their crews had a stand off until Cole and Kendrick eventually left.

Needed a JID verse I was sad he didn’t have one😔

Miss when Shawn would just vibe with the album like that 4yeo reaction rather than try to critique or not enjoy the great moments in this album

This album is so weird with me. I heard it once all the way through on a walk already but I’m not gonna over play it. For some reason it dosent give me a “I must replay this” I like when Cole takes me somewhere. 2014 Forest Hills Drive, 4YEO, K.O.D, he takes you for a ride while lecturing you **kinda like an acid trip** but this I just felt like he yelled at me and I was like “I understand” and just went on with my day. Also I felt like this was “JCole Type Beats the Album”

This feels like a collection of tracks more so than an album if that makes sense. They are all individually good, but I was hoping for a more cohesive project. Hopefully Shawn’s theory is right and there is something more substantial coming down the line.

This album is a very well wrap-up to his mixtape journey like the warm up, the come up, Friday night lights etc. I think he wanted to close that journey and something bigger is coming like the FallOFF

While I do enjoy the off season, I can’t act like I wasn’t left waiting for more. 21 savage and lil baby were definitely welcome. Additional comments: The off season feels more like a mixtape than an album. This only makes me even more excited for The Fall Off 7/10 Best track: m y l i f e Edit: Most of these tracks have grown on me quite a lot since release

let’s be honest, this is the only reactioner we’ve been waiting for

This man is the only person I’ve seen so far who doesn’t like some songs this whole album is amazing no skips whatsoever

The Off- Season is a refined The Warm Up mixtape given to us to make sure we’re not sleeping on Cole, as he is putting in work for his upcoming “The Fall Off” album.

Remember this is just the warm up to The Fall Off

Damn I can’t believe you wasn’t fucking with Punching the clock. That verse was crazy

A bit surprised by some of the opinions Shawn had on this project tbh, feel like this is the most confident J Cole has ever sounded on a project, and I could feel the hunger throughout it's runtime. No rating though? Guess we're getting a final thoughts then?👀

Shawn likes to be the smartest in the room, but when Cole’s here it’s just not possible...

Just an opinion to what u said at the end, I feel like what makes J.Cole's music so special is any average person can relate to him which ultimately builds this bond. That is why I always go back to his music. Despite all his success, he still remains humble and doesn't flex about how many cars, houses or bitches he got.

I honestly love your reactions and as someone pointed out this is the only one I was really expecting after the album dropped. Having that said I think you completely got it wrong. This album for me is absolutely insane production-wise, writing, features, instrumental, everything. For me this is the best J Cole project ever released, a combination of both up-to-date production vibe with hard lines.

The micheal b Jordan line is a reference to another Michael b Jordan line that drake said on lucky lefty(leaked song) drake says “micheal b Jordan call you know you answering” when he was talking about future & Lori Harvey so a friendly jab

7/10 hella bars on that joint. I don’t know if it has much replay value for me personally but that’s just me

Best rapping from Cole in years, features were selected perfectly, the construction of it as a whole.... Immaculate, the production is some of the best I’ve heard in a long time.

Bro looks like he’s being forced to listen to these albums. He really don’t like anything.

I felt the same way shawn did at first. It doesn't sound like a cole album and it's a shock. THEN it hit me why he called it the off season. It's meant to show you all the work he's put in and how he can dominate the rap game no matter what the style or flow is.

" he tryna have the college campuses going off." as a college student... when i heard the breakdown i was like... oh yea it's up next semester lmaoooo

I want Cole to never stop being this hard. I believe that he believes he is the greatest and that's why I love him.

i'm a big cole fan and i loved the fucking album but y'all in the comments act like he can't have a different opinion, he didn't like it as much, so what?

I def don't feel the same way about a few of your criticisms, and I'm not rlly a Cole Stan or anything. This to me just felt like Cole airing out his thoughts about things and showing that he can do what everybody else does but way better. And him rapping like an everyday man and the everyday experience is way more engaging than glamorizing shit that isn't real.

his singin on pride is the devil is so fuckin good

Shawn Cee reactions summarized:😐😐😐😐 With the occasional:🙂😐 😂😂

Bruh honestly I personally think that this is one of the best albums of the year man

As much as I’m hyped for the album, I’m equally hyped for Shawn’s later reaction to it lol

This album is amazing, and even better on full volume

Last time I was this early my dad was still in my life

I’m pretty sure J Cole flipped A Lot for the beat on My Life and I’m all here for it🙌🏾

This whole album is more like a message he’s giving us letting us know what he’s equipped with after all this time and showing us what he’s capable of after the off-season

This was the appetizer before The Fall Off, like Tiller's Anniversary album before we get Serenity

"Ima feel it when i get into it" - Shawn Cee 2021

This honestly and L. You’re looking too far into the music, their isn’t any background for these songs just listen and enjoy stop looking deeper. This is the same reason you didn’t like 2014.

Off Season definitely feels like a transitional moment for Cole. He’s not made that truly great album yet, but this sounds like the prelude to something great to come.

They way he did punching the clock had me weak

I respect the opinions that other have, but I can still STRONGLY disagree. This was an amazing record. Perfect sequencing. Amazing intro. Great wind down to the ending. The features fit in perfectly. Cole's lyrics were on point per usual. Just an all around amazing record. Idk what shawn sees as missing. He didn't even point out some of the best parts of the album like the vocals on My Life or the transition from Cole to Baby on Pride Is The Devil.

0:00 Intro 1:00 - 9 5 . s o u t h 2:39 - ​​a m a r i 3:33 - ​​m y . l i f e (Ft. 21 Savage) 5:46 - a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e 7:18 - p u n c h i n ’ . t h e . c l o c k 7:47 - 1 0 0 . m i l ’ 9:05 - ​​p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l (Ft. Lil Baby) 10:01 - ​l e t . g o . m y . h a n d 11:27 - ​​c l o s e 14:08 - ​h u n g e r . o n . h i l l s i d e 14:45 - Final Thoughts