J Cole has been promoting and teasing his upcoming album The Fall Off, which he is still in the works of making. To hold us over, he gives us Might Delete Later, something that he teased a couple of weeks ago while on tour with Drake. A lot has happened since Cole embarked on the tour with Drake, mainly Kendrick Lamar sending shots at both of them seemingly with no mercy. Cole had the chance to show he was the true top dog of the three of them with this project and The Fall Off. So let’s see if he did that.
The album starts with “Pricey” which is a good track to start with but it isn’t one of my favorite album songs on the album. Just a decent intro track but nothing to write home about. “Crocodile Tearz” is a song he posted on the video where he was promoting this project. The snippet when we heard it was great and the song now that it is officially out, it’s even better. Cole started this project by rapping his ass off. “Ready ‘24” samples The Diplomats' “I’m Ready” and also has a Cam’ron feature, which is great. This is another song where Cole is showing us that he can rap with the best of them.
“Huntin’ Wabbitz” is one of my favorite tracks on the album with one of the most wild samples ever. It seems like Cole has one mission on this album and that is to show you that he has been one of the best rappers for the last ten years, if not the best. He wants his respect. “H.Y.B” isn’t a bad song and I like the hook and the J. Cole verse and the hook by Bas but I am just not a big fan of Central Cee. His music is not for me but I can understand how someone would like it. “Fever” is one of the more commercial songs on this project, if not the most commercial song on the album. That being said, I do like the song and it is one of my favorites. That’s probably why he put it on the album: to reach the masses.
“Stickz N Stonez” goes back to the same formula most of this album has been taking, just Cole straight rapping and you can never have enough of that. “Pi” is one of the more controversial songs on the album because of some lyrics that I won’t get into. I’m only reviewing if the music sounds good or bad. And the verdict this song is okay. It’s too long and the beat nor the lyrics keep you engaged enough to keep your attention. “Stealth Mode” brings back better production and frankly better rapping from Cole. Bas has shown out on this album. One of the standouts of this album for sure.
The final stretch of this album keeps the same vibe as the rest. Cole rapping the best he can as he has been doing for the last couple of years. “3001” and “Trae The Truth In Ibiza” are both good songs that show Cole’s rapping ability. The real draw of this final stretch of the album is the Kendrick Lamar diss track “7 Minute Drill” which is a good warning shot to Kendrick Lamar to show him that he’s not one to play with if this battle gets deeper. Cole went after his height, his catalog (Kendrick’s catalog of albums is better than Cole’s IMO), said he fell off, and that if Kendrick wasn’t dissing, no one would be talking about him. This all sounds good and everything and it leaves us waiting for what Kendrick does next. That was until Cole apologized to Kendrick yesterday in a bizarre move. I get he didn’t want it on his mind and didn’t feel right dissing a peer and someone he respects but it’s a bad look and makes Cole look weak. Something that shouldn’t have happened after dropping a good project. Cole will recover from this because he’s J. Cole but this is a stain on his legacy considering he didn’t need to make a response in the first place. Most of Kendrick’s shots were aimed at Drake, not Cole. Just a bizarre move and makes people feel like Cole will always be the bronze medal winner behind Drake and Kendrick.
Aside from that, this is a good project that shows us something we already knew: that Cole can rap with the best of them. While I do prefer albums to have a little more variety other than just straight rapping. I still appreciate that Cole is still at the top of his game this far into his career. He’s still one-third of the Big Three and those three are here to stay. Might Delete Later is just a sneak peek of what this next era is for Cole and if this project is any indication, the main event will be even better.
Best Songs: Huntin’ Wabbitz, 7 Minute Drill, Fever, Crocodile Tearz
Worst Song: Pricey
7/10
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