It doesn't take much for a rumor to gain legs, and before long, it's walking around with a fully-evolved personality. Such was indeed the case when word began to spread that J. Cole was planning a surprise drop of The Fall Off this very week. After all, the Dreamville lyricist has previously teased a 2020 release, and this damnable year is steadily winding to a close.
And while the originally-speculated date of Tuesday came and went without a sign of Cole's sixth studio album, producer TM88 did his part in sparking even more hype with an intriguing tweet: "You know what’s crazy? I got a call from J Cole last night shit is about to get wicked."
Given the already explosive excitement surrounding the prospect of imminent J. Cole, TM's statement was immediately taken to mean, in a paraphrased fashion: buckle up, the album is coming tonight. And though he might have expected such a reaction given how starved the masses remain for new Cole music, TM88 was swiftly swept into the narrative as a key player, one that all but confirmed that The Fall Off was landing at midnight. He quickly moved to clarify that he did not confirm anything of the sort, but simply relayed a message that something wicked this way comes.
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In fact, some appeared downright upset by TM's tweet, prompting the producer to raise an eyebrow. "I didn’t say shit was dropping tonight Genius," he wrote, in response to one fan's message. When another asked him how it felt to have his words so utterly misconstrued, you could almost hear TM88's sigh through the computer screen. "I try to tweet carefully but ..."
Either way, it's hard not to imagine that J. Cole will be dropping sooner than later, given how much momentum he's managed to kick up without so much as writing a single character. Check out TM88's original message below, and sound off if you think we'll be catching The Fall Off as early as tonight. And when the moment indeed comes, do you think Cole will be able to ascend beyond whatever lofty expectations fans might have for an artist of his stature?