J. Cole is a master of the sneak attack. As Hip-Hop releases in 2024 are quietly ramping up in March, Cole raised the stakes with a 10-minute video promoting The Fall Off. Cole’s long-anticipated album that he first unveiled with the 2018 release of KOD is approaching fast. “Might Delete Later, Vol. 1” shows Cole on the move—from congratulating Lil Durk on their recent Grammy Award win for 2023’s “All My Life” collaboration, to check-ins from Drake and Bas, the video is fresh. It shows lighter moments in the superstar’s life, from Jamaican food stops to singing patriotic songs with friends.

In between, Cole delivers a song (starting at 3:46 in the video below) in stride with his most confident proclamations. The verse begins with a reminder that Jermaine is playing for legacy: “I said I was finished but I’m on another two summers / Hall of Famer, but I’m hungrier than all the newcomers / N____as swear they compare, but the truth humbles / They could f__k 112; they couldn’t do numbers,” J. Cole says Cole near the top of the verse. He then points to his hunger, and alludes to dropping his most beloved verse more than a decade after his debut album. “‘Benjamin Button,’ gettin’ younger as the hours pass / Should do the ‘Freshmen’ cover twice, I’m never out-classed / There’s not a Rap n___a breathin’ that can outlast / The Fall Off is like Hov droppin’ Reasonable Doubt last,” he touts.

J. Cole Explains Why His New Album Is Called The Fall Off

Cole is checking peers and insisting that he stands alone. “I’m the one that n___as fear on the low-ski / Heard ’em talkin’ like we peers, but they grossly / Mistaken, and it’s blatant, crocodile tears, n___as know I’m on the tier that they don’t see,” he raps in a compound rhyme display. The artist also appears to call out folks that are aiming to collect on his glory: “How dare a n___a rub his hands on this trophy / I vividly remember who was there / N___as hit my line when they want somethin’ / That’s a dub, it ain’t love if it cost somethin’ / N___as hit my phone up when they need somethin’ / I can’t recall a time when you gave me somethin’ / Chopped off the top, n___a, I achieved somethin’”

The song ends abruptly, and finds Cole sitting at his work station and proclaiming that he misses production. While praising longtime collaborator T-Minus, the MC/producer speaks about the headspace in which he makes beats. Whether that is hinting at a resurgence will remain to be seen. Meanwhile, J. Cole is clearly staying in dominance with the pen and the microphone.

J. Cole Says He Is The Best Rapper Alive & He’s Proving It

Cole often makes artistry fun for fans. Perhaps “Might Delete Later, Vol. 1” lives up to its name. Or, more volumes may suddenly pop up at any minute.

#BonusBeat: Several songs featuring J. Cole are currently on the official AFH Playlist (follow here):