J. COLE RELEASES NEW ALBUM - THE OFF-SEASON

The wait is finally over. After three years, J. Cole has returned to deliver his sixth studio album, The Off-Season.

News of The Off-Season erupted on social media last week when Cole announced the album. Following similar basketball themes from his previous projects like The Come Up, The Warm Up, and Cole World: The Sideline Story, Cole's hunger in hip-hop has been reignited here, like the flaming basketball hoop that looms behind him on the album cover art.

Ahead of the album's release, Cole dropped "Interlude" to give fans a taste of what The Off-Season had to offer. The North Carolina rapper also shared a mini-documentary, "Applying Pressure - The Off-Season," which chronicled the inspiration behind the album, the title, and what Cole has been up to in the interim before its release.

Cole had a busy week leading up to The Off-Season being released. 

In other J. Cole news, the rapper reportedly signed with Patriots Basketball Club to play for the Rwandan side in the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League. The Patriots were scheduled to play their first BAL game this Sunday (today), May 16, against the Nigerian team Rivers Hoopers in which they won (Rivers Hoopers 60 vs Patriots 83). Cole played basketball at Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He made the team at St. John's University but chose to focus on his education and music. Two of his early mixtapes, The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights, had basketball-themed covers.