‘This is Not a Drill’: J. Cole Sends Social Media Into a Frenzy After Announcing Album Release Date Following Three-Year Hiatus
J.Cole announced the release date for his next studio album, and, as expected, chaos erupted on social media.
Titled “The Off-Season,” this album serves as the follow-up to Cole’s 2018 project “KOD,” an abbreviation that stands for “Kids on Drugs,” “King Overdose,” and “Kill Our Demons,” which earned him his fifth consecutive No. 1 album. This news also comes on the heels of his Dreamville compilation album “Revenge of The Dreamers III.” On Tuesday, May 4, the Grammy award-winning rapper shared the news, writing on Twitter, “Just know this was years in the making.” He added, “My new album The Off-Season available everywhere 5/14.”
The post received over 673,000 likes, over 228,000 retweets, and 60,000 quote tweets as fans expressed their excitement over the news. For those familiar with the running joke that the “ATM” emcee makes “woke music,” or rather his music is too lyrical or complex for the average listener, the internet, of course, brought back the infamous “Cole’s dropping” meme from social media influencer @Supremedreams_1.
The clip features two young men cosplaying as “gangsters” and gambling when they’re interrupted by a third individual off-screen who informs them that the rapper is about to release a new album. One gentleman turns around in disbelief, asking, “J. Cole? Jermaine? Cole? The real is back, the ville is back. Flow bananas here, peel this back,” referencing a line from the “January 28th” track on Cole’s 2014 album “2014 Forest Hills Drive.”
The actor then admits that he’s really not into the “street life” and was listening to gangster music because of everyone else. He later removes the durag from his head before putting on a long-sleeved polo shirt for a more preppy look.
The same energy was spotted throughout the timeline as many cheered on the announcement. One Twitter user wrote, “J. Cole back means we will hear some rapping on beat for the first time in three years.”
Another person commented, “J Cole is the only man who can disappear and return however he likes and I’ll still be waiting for him.”
“Kendrick Lamar fans watching J Cole fans getting new music,” a third expressed.
“J. Cole boutta drop his album. This is not a drill,” a fourth wrote.
No word if Cole will have any features on this album. The rapper is notable for his albums going platinum with zero assists from other artists, a talent that is highly regarded.