Fans Think J. Cole Is Preparing to Drop A New Album
J. Cole has cleared out his Instagram, leading fans to believe that the Dreamville Records founder is releasing a new album in 2023.
Twenty twenty-three could be the year of J. Cole. Fans have noticed that the Dreamville Records founder has cleared out his Instagram page, traditionally marking that new music is on the way from artists rolling out a forthcoming project. Cole last wiped his Instagram in January 2019 before dropping "Middle Child," the lead single from compilation albumRevenge of the Dreamers III that arrived later that summer.
Fans have also speculated that Cole's potential new album could be titled The Fall Off or It's A Boy, two projects he teased during "The Fall Off" era in 2020. Another possibility is Cole being executive producer of the forthcoming Creed III soundtrack, with the movie starring Michael B. Jordan (also marking the actor's directorial debut), Jonathan Majors and Tessa Thompson.
In 2021, the North Carolina native released sixth album The Off Season, which scored nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Melodic Rap Performance ("Pride Is the Devil"), while single "My Life" was nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance. Since 2021, Cole has been featured on singles from BIA ("London"), YG ("Scared Money") and Benny the Butcher ("Johnny P's Caddy").
Although Cole didn't drop a solo project last year, he made a show-stopping appearance on Dreamville's D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape with DJ Drama, which also featured JID, Bas, Kenny Mason, A$AP Ferg and more. Outside of music, Cole became the first rapper to cover NBA 2K last year, also appearing as a playable character and in its MyCAREER story mode. In addition, the rapper briefly joined the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) for two games.
“I had to let them know how incredible this was,” he said of briefly joining the team. “The players, the coaching staff, the organization, the league, it’s a crazy thing when you see it on paper, when you see what’s actually happening, and they made me feel so welcome.”