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What’s a “fall-off” exactly?
In the NBA, it’s when a player loses his burst or first-step. Eventually, the player’s statistics dip, injuries pile up, and the calls for retirement become unavoidable.
Rap superstar J. Cole, whose latest album is called The Fall-Off, loves the sport. His music is coded with basketball references, begging comparisons between an athlete’s dedication on the court to Cole’s in the studio. He, being a basketball player himself, understands how the game can force you to hang up your jersey, even when you feel there’s more to give.
The same rules don’t apply to the rap game, and Cole knows that. At 41, Cole made a brief pro basketball run in China in April, when most athletes his age have either retired or are in the twilight of their careers.
Sure, his new song claims “the fall-off is inevitable,” but unlike an aged NBA star, there’s nothing that points to Cole’s musical decline.
His first of two shows at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Monday night for “The Fall-Off World Tour” was enough proof.
Despite his initial claims that The Fall-Off would be his last studio album, the man isn’t showing signs of retiring. He’s relishing the moment, enjoying the ride he’s taken with his fans since 2007’s The Come Up, and occasionally taking personal detours along the way. And to his fans’ delight, he doesn’t let his foot off the gas.
Cole’s journey to the Xfinity Mobile Arena stage began amid the crowd. Dressed in an unassuming black sweatshirt, he appeared sitting in the stands, in the middle of an arena spotlight. . A video of him appeared on the stage’s LED screen; a title card identified Jermaine Lamarr Cole as the director of the show we were about to witness.
With “39 Intro” blaring in the arena, Cole walked through the crowd shaking hands with everyone in his path.
The battered Honda Civic that Cole has kept from his college days, and later drove across the country to promote The Fall-Off’s release, descended onto the stage.
From then on, Cole was in the driver’s seat.
With a replica of Fayetteville, N.C.’s historic Market House in the background, he transitioned to hard-hitting odes to his hometown.
When he performed “Two Six,” a reference to the 26th county in North Carolina where his city lies, the crowd swung their tour-branded towels in the air like fans at an NBA playoff game.
“We’re only a few songs in, and I can tell this [is] one of them ones,” Cole said less than 10 minutes into his setlist, before breaking into “Safety,” followed by a five-minute monologue about Disc 29, the first half of The Fall-Off.
These moments allowed Cole to delve deep into his creative choices and concepts, but it was at the expense of the show’s momentum. He halted tracks like “Life Sentence” to express how much he wants his fans’ marriages to succeed, all to little effect.
Those lengthy spiels aside, the sequencing of his songs provided a window into Cole’s mind. And with every changing record and shift in the emotional weight, the stage backdrop changed hues — from bright amber on “Two Six” to deep blues and violets on “Poor Thang.”
The smoke intensified as Cole bounced from 2014’s “A Tale of 2 Citiez” and “Fire Squad,” before pausing to ask the crowd for a quick favor. “Philly, I know y’all don’t play about your sports teams … Whether you’re from PA, Philly, or Jersey, can y’all pretend y’all from Fayetteville for this one song? Is that cool?”
It didn’t take much convincing.
He broke into “Old Dog,” and the crowd obliged – erupting as the booming record sprung into rotation.
As a note of thanks, Cole played a medley of one-off singles and collaborative hits, including “MIDDLE CHILD” and “a lot,” his Grammy-winning collab with 21 Savage.
He polled the audience to see which of his fans could spit his verse on Benny the Butcher’s “Johnny P’s Caddy,” and one lucky Altoona, Pa., native was handpicked to join him on stage.
Cole then moved to early mixtape favorites like “Lights Please” and “In the Mourning” before leaping to radio jams like “Work Out” and “Nobody’s Perfect,” all with seamless execution. .
The crowd rose to their feet for “Wet Dreamz” and hoisted their phone lights to “Love Yourz.”
Then, after singing “Power Trip” and “Planez,” Cole proceeded to spoil the show’s end.
“I can’t lie, I have two more songs left,” he declared. “The second is a selfish one. It’s for me.”
The first was “No Role Modelz,” a track accompanied with an AI video of Cole dressed as former President George W. Bush misstating a common proverb during his 2002 visit to a Nashville high school.
“Fool me once … shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again," Cole rapped, repeated the former president’s words. The obviously doctored video briefly amused the crowd (and Cole).
The final song of Cole’s performance was “Quik Stop.” Another personal detour, but a welcome one, no doubt.
“It’s not a hit record. So, if you want to leave to beat traffic, I get it,” he said. “I got to do this song.”
Fans barely budged as Cole closed the two-hour show with a record that encapsulates how one encounter with a fan reminded him of his musical existence.
That closing record was reflective of Cole’s delivery throughout the show.
He isn’t one for onstage theatrics, synchronized pyrotechnics, or elaborate LED graphics. It’s just him and a microphone, a direct exchange between him and his fans with a few monologues thrown into the mix.
As it stands, Cole hasn’t lost sight of that connection, and he certainly hasn’t lost his musical touch or command on stage.
There’s no “falling off” here, only falling forward. Cole is still commanding the rap game, as a great point guard controls the flow of offense.
And neither he nor his Honda Civic has met its last stop yet.
Setlist
- “39 Intro”
- “Two Six”
- “Safety”
- “Run a Train”
- “Poor Thang”
- “Legacy”
- “A Tale of 2 Citiez”
- “Fire Squad / WHO TF IZ U”
- “Old Dog”
- “MIDDLE CHILD”
- “a lot” (21 Savage Cover)
- “Johnny P’s Caddy” (Benny the Butcher Cover)
- “Lights Please”
- “2Face”
- “In the Mourning”
- “Nobody’s Perfect”
- “Work Out”
- “Can’t Get Enough”
- “The London” (Young Thug Cover)
- “She Knows”
- “Drum n Bass”
- “The Let Out”
- “Bombs in the Ville/Hit the Gas”
- “Wet Dreamz”
- “G. O. M. D.”
- “Life Sentence”
- “Love Yourz”
- “Power Trip”
- “Planez” (Jeremih Cover)
- “No Role Modelz”
- “Quik Stop”
©2026 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
