A Song From J. Cole’s ‘The Off-Season’ Has Fans Recalling His Tiff With Noname

J. Cole’s new album The Off-Season arrived last night to plenty of fanfare as listeners expressed their awe at his refocused rapping and generated enough streams to drive the new project to the top of Apple’s charts. However, not all of the reactions have been positive, as one song seems to be reminding fans of last year’s altercation with Chicago rapper Noname.

To recap: J. Cole and Noname became the center of a wide-ranging debate on social media when J. Cole released “Snow On Tha Bluff,” a reflective track in which Cole attempts to unpack his complicated emotions about social justice work and language. Many fans interpreted some of the song’s lyrics as references to Noname, who’d previously tweeted about celebrities keeping silent during the 2020 uprisings over the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, among others. She responded with “Song 33,” calling out his poor timing, and fans on both sides debated the merits of both points of view.

Today, it appears many are either reevaluating or reaffirming their positions, thanks in part to a line from “Applying Pressure,” the fourth song on the concise The Off-Season. “If you broke and clownin’ a millionaire, the joke is on you,” Cole asserts. However, it looks like plenty of listeners disagree, turning “Noname” into a trending topic as they revisit the debate, which Noname herself commented on just a few days ago.

https://twitter.com/vox00_/status/1393198052232638466

https://twitter.com/YungFeeny/status/1393170960610701313

https://twitter.com/angryblkhoemo/status/1393212445301346310

While “Applying Pressure” is seeing its share of attention, fans also expressed fascination at “Let Go My Hand,” on which Cole confirms the rumored scuffle between himself and Diddy in 2013… right before inviting the man himself to close out the track with one of his trademark prayers.

The Off-Season is out now via Dreamville Records and Roc Nation. Get it here.