J. Cole wasn’t quiet for long. The singular rap star has returned for an encore with “Heaven’s EP” after his latest project, The Off-Season, was received to near-unanimous acclaim.
Cole’s “Heaven’s EP” is built on top of the beat from Drake’s Certified Lover Boy tune “Pipe Down.” With so much drama unfolding between Drake and Kanye, Cole had to roll through to remind fans of his place in rap’s hierarchy.
“Heaven’s EP” is accompanied with a Simon Chasalow-directed music video, and, as Billboard points out, the song touches on Cole’s hoop dreams. “Like the second time I got cut from the junior varsity/Fightin’ back tears, I promised to switch gears/And said to myself ‘Whatever you do, you won’t do it partially.’”
The Off-Season is 12 tracks long, and features guest verses from 21 Savage, Morray, Bas, 6LACK, and Lil Baby.
The record debuted at the No.1 position on the Billboard Album 200 charts. Selling over 228,000 album units, all songs from the album entered in the Top 40 of the Hot 100 while four of the 12 tracks―“m y . l i f e,” “a m a r i,” “p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l,” and “9 5 . s o u t h”―charted in the Top 10 list simultaneously. J.Cole joins Juice WRLD, Lil Wayne, and Drake as the only artists in history to do so.
The Off-Season marks J. Cole’s sixth studio effort and follows his 2018 album, KOD, as well as the 2019 Dreamville Records compilation, Revenge of the Dreamers III.
Prior to releasing The Off-Season, J. Cole shared a short documentary, Applying Pressure, which offered additional insight into his mindset as he made the new album. He also took a stab at professional basketball, playing a few games for the Rwanda Patriots of the Basketball Africa League.
Back in June, Cole announced a U.S. tour in support of his new album, The Off-Season. The 17-date trek will launch September 24 at the FTX Arena in Miami and wrap October 21 at the Forum in Los Angeles. 21 Savage will provide support throughout the tour, as will Morray.
