Cole throws gasoline on the heated anticipation for The Fall Off
For J. Cole’s birthday and leading into The Fall Off, he’s dropped a mixtape. Birthday Blizzard, hosted by DJ Clue, has J. Cole going off over four classic instrumentals. Bringing it back to the mixtape days, this is a quick bite—but that’s good because I think we’re about to get a double album in a week, ha. Let’s break these “freestyles” down.
“Bronx Zoo Freestyle” comes first and has J. Cole rapping over the “Victory” instrumental. It’s a classic beat to go off on, and Cole did it justice. These are freestyles on a short mixtape—I’m not looking for fully focused content; I’m looking for dope raps and bars, and J. Cole delivered.
“Golden Goose Freestyle” was cool, and I like that he tackled the “Can I Live” beat—especially since he had his own version of “Can I Live” back on The Warm Up. That said, this was my least favorite track, largely because of the beat and, in turn, the vibe. I love the original, but this version was just alright—which happens with jacked beats sometimes.
“Winter Storm Freestyle” is over “Who Shot Ya?” This has Cole back in that intense mode, and I like when he gets into it. It’s only four tracks here, but for what J. Cole had to work with, I thought the sequencing was excellent. “Bronx Zoo” was a great starter, “Golden Goose” is the mellowest track, and then he finishes off with the best ones—including the last song as the peak, leaving us wanting more for The Fall Off.
The final track is “99 Build Freestyle,” where Cole goes off on the “Money, Power & Respect” beat and shreds it. Easily the best track on Birthday Blizzard in my opinion—and it better be if you’re gonna call it “99 Build.”
This project wasn’t perfect, but it was a perfect drop in anticipation for The Fall Off. I did catch some corny lines here and there, but J. Cole isn’t regarded as one of the best for no reason. It wasn’t too long, but it was a great dose of rapping to get everyone excited before the album. Let’s see what The Fall Off holds.
Standout Tracks: 99 Build & Winter Storm Freestyle
Album Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑(8/10)
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