J. Cole simply gave followers the proper birthday present. The Fayetteville rapper dropped 4 brand-new freestyles Tuesday in a shock venture referred to as Birthday Blizzard ’26.

Cole introduced the drop on X and directed followers to thefalloff.com to seize the venture. The location affords 5 tracks complete for simply $1, however followers pays no matter they need, together with nothing.

The timing couldn’t be extra good. Cole’s long-awaited album The Fall Off drops February 6, and these freestyles function one other style of what’s coming.

The venture options 4 freestyles: “Bronx Zoo Freestyle,” “Golden Goose Freestyle,” “Winter Storm Freestyle,” and “99 Construct Freestyle.”

However Cole didn’t simply ship bars. He addressed the elephant within the room: his 2024 apology to Kendrick Lamar after their temporary beef.

“I was high, see, the apology dropped me approach out of the highest 3,” Cole raps on one observe. “No drawback, I’m in all probability my greatest after they doubt me.”

The North Carolina native continued reflecting on his controversial determination.

“The highest ain’t actually what I assumed it will be, so I jumped off and landed again on the backside and restarted at a stage the place I wasn’t thought to be a lot, simply to climb previous them once more and inform all of them to maintain up.”

Cole’s feedback reference his “7 Minute Drill” diss observe aimed toward Lamar in 2024.

The track referred to as Kendrick’s music boring, but it surely didn’t throw heavy punches. Days later, Cole took the stage at his Dreamville Competition to publicly apologize.

“That was the lamest, goofiest s###,” Cole stated throughout his competition apology. “I pray that god will line me again up on my function and my path, I pray that my n#### didn’t really feel no approach.”

The apology got here after Lamar’s beef with Drake dominated headlines all through 2024. J. Cole initially jumped into the fray however shortly backed out, leaving followers divided about his determination.

Birthday Blizzard ’26 arrives as anticipation peaks for The Fall Off.

Earlier this month, Cole launched “Disc 2 – Monitor 2,” a placing track the place he raps about his life in reverse. The accompanying video confirmed Cole describing his loss of life, then working backward to his delivery.

The track took an estimated 12 hours to write down and showcases Cole’s storytelling skills.

Cole has described The Fall Off as music “handcrafted” over 10 years. The album might doubtlessly be his final, primarily based on feedback he made in a 2021 SLAM interview.

“I’m tremendous comfy with the potential of being carried out with this s###,” Cole stated on the time. “However I’m by no means going to say, ‘Oh, that is my final album.’ As a result of I by no means know the way I’m going to really feel two years, three years, 4 years down the road.”

The Fall Off will comply with Cole’s current tasks Would possibly Delete Later and The Off-Season.

The album represents the fruits of Cole’s inventive journey and his try to cement his legacy in Hip-Hop.

DJ Clue hosts Birthday Blizzard ’26, including his signature contact to the venture.

The collaboration brings again recollections of traditional mixtape tradition, the place DJs performed essential roles in breaking new music.

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