Cole really sold CDs out the trunk and might get 300K first week. Organic hustle still wins.

J. Cole’s The Fall-Off is aiming for a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 with 280,000 to 300,000 units sold in its first week, according to HITSDD. If it happens, it would mark his seventh No. 1 album.

When you talk about organic rollouts, J. Cole’s rollout for The Fall-Off has to be up there. Not only did he tease it on a website he created, but he also wrote essays detailing what it was about, created trailers, and, for Christ’s sake, was selling CD versions of it at stops in his hometown and more. I’m glad all his work seems to have paid off.

Fending off Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Cole’s impressive streak of No. 1 albums continues, placing him in rarefied air as a rapper. As for the music, it’s as pure as a Cole album can get, with the Fayetteville rapper delivering storytelling on tracks like “What If” and “I Love Her Again,” while also giving us certified bangers such as “WHO TF IZ U.”

With The Fall-Off potentially being his last album (He says it will be his last “J. Cole” album, though he may still do production work in the future), it’s only fitting that many people copped it. To put the numbers in perspective, Cole’s last project, Might Delete Later, moved 119,000 units in its first week, while The Off-Season sold very similar numbers as The Fall-Off. Yes, Cole is still revered.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.