Analytic Dreamz: Notorious Mass Effect - "JERMAINE (J. COLE) - TRACK 2 DISC 2"

Episode Date: January 15, 2026

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠Dive into the latest on J. Cole's highly anticipated album The Fall-Off in this segment of Notorious Mass Effect. Analytic Dreamz breaks down the official announcement dropped on January 14, including the confirmed February 6 release date for what many frame as Cole's final studio album and first full-length solo project since The Off-Season in 2021.Explore the decade-plus development behind The Fall-Off, first teased in 2018 with “1985 – Intro to ‘The Fall Off’” on KOD and long promised as Cole's best work yet, surpassing his debut. Analytic Dreamz covers the lead single “Disc 2 Track 2,” released hours after the cinematic trailer, featuring Cole rapping his life story in reverse—echoing Nas' “Rewind”—with a music video directed by Ryan Doubiago that visually rewinds from death and funeral back through fame, fatherhood, marriage, industry pressures, early grind, childhood, and his father's return.The trailer highlights everyday moments like washing his car and eating alone at a diner, paired with narration on fame's temporary nature and the natural cycle of rising and falling, rejecting the stigma of “falling off.” Analytic Dreamz examines Cole's mission statement: a handcrafted, personal challenge over 10+ years, dedicated first to himself and then to hip-hop, positioning this as a reflective, autobiographical culmination and legacy moment for the culture.From past delays after 2019 promises, through The Off-Season's 2021 dominance (No. 1 Billboard 200, Spotify streaming records) and 2024's Might Delete Later mixtape amid the Kendrick-Drake feud, this rollout signals Cole's thoughtful, narrative-driven farewell to album-making. Join Analytic Dreamz for in-depth analysis on what The Fall-Off means for J. Cole's career and hip-hop.Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Now, I know what you're saying. I already can hear the germane supporters. But then, you know what I'm saying? I was like, damn, look at the state of hip hop. Like, what's going on? As of course, the one and only, Jay Cole just came back with a specific track titled Dis 2, Track 2.

And I do have to say it was phenomenal. I know a lot of y'all people out there that's watched a podcast for, you know, quite some time. You'll probably think it to yourself. But I thought you said, Jermaine is the most overrated rapper of all time. And guess what? I still keep that sentiment. You guys.

As you already know what overrated means. And as far as the top three, I just don't think Jermaine belongs in the top three. I mean, we have future Hendricks just out here being disrespected, left and right. Jack Creece Webster, even though I have my critiques about that specific person, I think he has an argument to be had as far as being in the top three. And then of course we have the one and only Onika, Tanya Mirage. But then you know what I'm saying? I was like, damn.

That nobody ever puts in the top three for some reason, even though she carried women rap for quite some time before an influx of rappers came in due to the Cardi B's of the world. So anyways, as far as my top three, Jermaine's nowhere near it. So as far as the definition of overrated, I think that's what it is. And I think Jermaine's one of the most overrated rappers of all time. But I've never said he was a trash rapper, right? But as far as him rapping, his album, The Fall Off, should not have any subject matter pertaining to being the best, taking out rappers lyrically, and of course, he should not talk about any rapper wanting smoke via disc tracks.

But then, you know what I'm saying? I was like, damn, look at the state of hip hop. Like, what's going on? So that out the way, that's basically my sentiments as far as Jermaine Cole. But I will have to keep it eight more than 92 like I usually do, as this specific track, this two track two is phenomenal. It's straight up fire. I love when lyrical rappers

rap from a life perspective and I've kept that same sentiment throughout this entire podcast and especially when it's done in this format, which I believe Nas did this before as far as his specific rewind track and it was giving me those type of vibes.

And I remember when the game, I forget what specific track he did it, but the game basically talked about his life entirely in reverse, which I don't know if it was his life or if it was a specific gangster event. But basically he talked about that specific event, that whole day from ending to start, right? From finish to start. It's like the reverse will start to finish.

Y'all get the point. So that's basically what Jermaine did. So him talking about my life, I see it in reverse, opening up with his death and funeral and then rewinding backwards, basically going through a lot of things, whether it was fatherhood, marriage, whether it was temptation, touring, whether it was his dad.

The way he put his dad coming into his life and the pain going away, as far as it being a reflection of his dad walking away, and the pain coming to him was phenomenal. I mean, it was just poetic. I think the description of him doing his life in reverse and talking about his dad leaving his life by rapping as if he came into his life and the pain went away, it may sound confusing.

It's because it is. You have to listen to the track. And lyrical rappers make it to where there's Easter eggs all throughout the track. You know, I do cover the entire gaming and music industry. And I would basically compare it to an elderly type of artist. Lyrical rappers should have the expectation of being able to replay a track time and time again. And then guess what? You get a new meaning every single time.

and you start to realize this artist is a real lyricist because the Easter eggs are all throughout the track, right? And it's very easy to separate yourself in a rap format from regular rappers when you do that. So for Jermaine, I believe this two track two definitely is showcasing how already he's trying to take the throne as the best rapper in 2026. But you still have to keep in mind that he wasn't hip hop time out because he pulled one of the most egregious moves in hip-hop since you know we really we really don't

know what to compare it to because it's the first of his time putting out a disc track to a specific rapper and then taking it back under 48 hours one of the worst moves i've ever seen in rap history so for him to be in hip-hop time out and then to come out in this form and fashion because of course the last time he gave us a musical offering which he technically still didn't put this track out on DSPs as far as this two track two. But the last musical offering he's given us was February 21st, 2025 and it was titled Clouds, which I remember covering that.

And specifically when I talked about Clouds, if I can find it, yeah, here it is. When I covered that back on February 21st, 2025, dang, I was on the ball, wasn't I? So there was a blog that you can pay to subscribe to, or not subscribe, you can pay to listen to. And it's like a personal vibe blog. from germane i think is a producer or whatever and he talked about a lot of things throughout his

life and it gave a glimpse to j cole fans into uh j cole's like evolving artistry so it's a very phenomenal idea and he attached music along to it and he literally uh put out a post about the cloud's track talking about how he said quote just wanted to share hold on me make this bigger because i don't even i had the image but it's kind of small just wanted to share uh uh may made this a few days ago. Then I added a second verse and was like, man, I got a blog now. I can put whatever I want up there. I didn't have this 20 minutes ago when I decided to really put this up, but now I got one.

Clouds produced by D2L, old man and small contributions from me. So that's another critique I've always had about Jermaine. I don't think he makes a good beat. I think he needs to let the producers do their job. now everybody can be Kanye West. You guys. I say now everybody can be Kanye West. You guys.

See, that's the problem. And I think Jermaine shows that time and time again whenever he tries to make his own beats. So as far as the album, the main thing I was going to talk about is, of course, what I'm showing right now is the actual album cover. Well, as of right now, for the fall off, right? Analytic Dreams video on Spotify to see the video along with the audio. But as far as the fall off, safe to say, from Jermaine's perspective is taken over, it took over 10 years to make. And basically, Jay Cole intended for this album to be his best work ever, which is a strong

claim, right? Very ironic because the title of the album is the fall off. So this being first teased as early as 2018 via the 1985 intro to the first. intro to the fall off on KOD means that J-Code's been working on this for quite some time and because of him having to rework certain things you know you've already heard some of the rumblings of why he reworked it this album has been handcrafted for 10 plus years that's well almost 10 plus years basically is what I'm trying to let you know like this album is definitely supposed to be Jay Cole's magnum opus let him tell it so now as far as the specific

track and the music video for this two, track two being directed by Ryan Dubiago. I don't even not say that name. Concept is definitely interesting as time visually rewinds around Cole and the opening line is my life as I see it in reverse and then it kept going as far as ending with his father re-answering his life. So I think if I was to do a lyrical deep dive, we would be here for hours.

It's literally one of those type of tracks where if you think of J. Cole's best lyrical performances, this track will have to come up. Because rapping in reverse, making it sound sonically pleasing, and also giving heartfelt bars or also keeping a rapper persona, I think it's very hard to do as far as keeping all that at a high quality level. And J. Cole admittedly did a phenomenal job. So I don't know what other type of single we're going to get for this album. He did come out with a release day. February 6th of this year so it's coming out not soon but I mean technically soon but in three weeks

this album will be yours and I am very excited for this album at this point in time especially after hearing that track because if he goes the introspective route instead of having bars about being the best I think that's the best route J-co can take especially at this point in time where you did one of the most egregious moves we've ever seen me you've ever seen by a rapper but if you're just talking about your life and you're not talking about the being the best rapper if you're not talking about this and somebody talking about who wants smoke with me lyrically if you're not talking about all that then it's fine if you're just talking about your life i think that's perfect for you because you know i gave i thought it was great advice you know what

i'm saying i said jermaine should become a pastor you know what i'm saying at this point in time you should probably go to pass the fitz route since you already did it lyrically right put out seven minute drill which was like three minutes and 23 seconds by the way and then after that he basically took it down in under 48 hours went on his own Dreamville festival it said to his mammoth of fans hey guys y'all love Kendrick i love kendrick guess what that track is being taken down and it would never see the light up day on dsps until germain realized the internet exists solely to keep archives and keep files on you and you can go listen to that track if you want to on like SoundCloud YouTube etc so I don't have much of a deep dive besides that

If you don't know, when it comes to Germain, he's also the first artist officially signed to Jay-Z when it came out in 2009 because Jay-Cold became the first artist officially signed to Jay-Z's new Rock Nation imprint. If you was wondering how J-Main gained such status in the hip-hop game. And, you know, I do call him overrated, but guess what? As far as the business moves, that's one of the better moves that he probably made in his career. and J. Cole got on Jay Z's radar after the lights please circulated convincing Jay to pivot rock nation toward hip-hop rather strictly pop acts. So shout to Jay Z for seeing the potential in Jay Cole. I definitely think he's one of the greatest rappers we've ever had in the past 10 years. But as far as a rap, as far as the top three rap artists, I do believe that third

slide either believes or either belongs to Travis future y'all get the point i'm not going to be the dead horse y'all get how i feel like j cole is still the most overrated rapper ever so anyways um as far as sales kod i believe did around 390 000 first week for your for your eyes only did 363 000 2014 forest hills drive did 353 000 i think especially with the new rules j cole will easily crack 400,000 with his upcoming album now if I was a look of Cardi B I think that's a perfect comparison let me see um Cardi B was that I am the drama is that what it was first week sales so as far as Cardi B's I am the drama well as a fan account the first thing that pops up anyways I was want to see chart data is anyway I could pull a chart data um I think I did around

400 oh okay okay so chart data was trying to be i don't know if they're trying to be funny i don't know if they're part of barbs or whatever but they basically said she sold 199.6 000 first week right even though uh some other reports came out that she sold around 246 000 first week where i am the drama so whichever number you want to you know abide by i think j coals easily going to do over 400 000 and the reason why I brought up Cardi B is because Cardi B before that did a lot more as far as let's see Cardaby, what was

an album, invasion of privacy. I'm trying to show you all the difference of sales in back then compared to now. So, invasion of privacy, I think did around 255,000 first week. And of course

with Am I the drama having so much anticipation built up and only barely cracking 200, I think, well, it's still a phenomenal accomplishment, but compared to the superstars, Jay Cole would not have as big of a, um, I guess, I don't know, because where your eyes only did 306,000, 363,000 first of you. So I guess they would have to go backwards. This is my prediction. Covering YouTube, taking away their streams from Billboard to the point where Billboard basically, uh, fluctuated, basically they elevated the amount of

of the amount of units you get per stream right and i remember covering it's not too long ago so basically uh youtube streams will no longer factor into all billboard charts after their internal spat i covered at december 23rd 2025 with billboard making it easier to gain a unit through streams lessening the amount by like i think 800 or 1,000 his numbers would blow up so even though i do believe he's not going to blow his numbers out of the water as far as four year eyes only as far as KOD as far as 2014 for his heels draw i still think due to the uh inflation let me just put it like that of being able to sell more via billboard he's going to do over 400 000 now I'm open to being wrong because 400 000 is still a huge number like playboy carty did like 500,000 and they

thought every rapper was going to do that after playboy carty last year and he ended up having the highest first week sales for hip-hop album i think j cole doing over 400 000 first week for his album i think that's a respectable number um especially compared to the field so when drake comes out you know i ain't want to compare it to my favorite artist you know what i'm saying is it okay i got my dope on me but when drake brings his dope as far as ice man i think it's easily the crack in half and mill and you know i don't think there's any other artist close to drake right now i think he literally there's a stat that came out you know after the billboard you know uh inflation of numbers that drake's albums like five albums charted it was crazy so

I wonder if I can find that. Yeah, so it was reported at Drake, reported by a complex that Drake is the first hip hop artist to chart 10 albums at once on the Billboard 200. There's really no comparison when it comes to numbers. But like I always say, just because you sell a lot does not mean you make the highest quality in music. And just because you don't sell a lot does not mean you're making the most abysmal, the most egregious. Shepard. All right, my fault. It doesn't correlate, right?

Just because you sell a lot. Does not mean you have the best product. Just because you don't sell a lot does not mean you're making the worst product ever. The two don't correlate. I just want to let you all know from an objective metric. Drake is not even competing, whether Jermaine or. Now, if Kendrick comes out, I ain't okay. He's going to do numbers.

I mean, I think Kendrick did like around 300. Right now we're just deep diving into the goats of rapping. Kendrick, what was it, GNX? first week. So Kendrick basically did I don't know if I should just type in chart data. GNX first week sales. Oh, I didn't even put in sales.

That word probably helps out. All right. So, okay, so, wow. GNX did 319,000 first week. Huh. Like I said, billboard dead inflate numbers,

but that's crazy. crazy. I thought Gene Next did way more. Like I said, Playboy Cardi had the biggest first week sales as far as having over $500,000. Sales doesn't mean everything, but as far as consumption, I want to put it in perspective for the people wondering how big

is Jay Cole compared to the field. I think, thanks, I don't know if he will do over $400,000. I'm all over the place with this prediction. So I was pretty on the nose with Cardi Bs, which is why, you know, if you follow me on my social media, it's my TikTok clip of Cardi B went viral because I basically predicted how much she would sell first week.

But as far as Jaycold, huh, yeah, $400,000 may be a lot, maybe a stretch. It definitely may be a stretch. I'll probably say, dang, compare it because I don't think he's nowhere near as big as Kendrick. Kendrick had a coacher in the chokehold, Paul's, and he sold $319,000. I still think Drake's doing half a meal. Call me a glazer. Drake's just bigger than all these artists. I can see J-Code doing, yeah, I'm changing my prediction.

I think J-C-Cold will probably do around 300 first week. I can see I'm putting up the same amount of numbers as GNX, and that's like the highest. So I would have to say, I would have to say 280 to 190 first week for J-Co. Once again, first-week sales don't mean everything. I'm just gauging consumption amongst the superstars and hip-hop. So, yeah, I don't think the fall-off will get the same amount of traction as GNX. and GNX did 319,000 first week. So yeah.

Let me see. Was there anything else? I think that was basically it. And that would fall in line with his 300 debuts. I mean, his biggest one was with KOD that went 390,000, 97,000 first week. So I can see the offseason being around. No, the offseason was 282,000. So yeah, a good metric would be almost at 300.

I think that's the ceiling for J-Co at this point. I'm predicting 270 to $290,000 first week. So yeah, unless Jay-Z want to buy all the units for him, which, you know, we don't want to get into that, right? So anyways, we spent like 20 minutes talking about Jermaine. I would just let y'all know. I'm definitely putting respect on his name after that track, a disc two, track two. I think when he comes out with his next single, it may be more radio-friendly. But I love how he started off like this because this is one of the subject matters.

I believe he can't talk about thoroughly because of it not pertaining to being the best or this is somebody. So that means, I said, click my link to you in my bio. Let me know on one of my social medias. What do you think about Jay Cole's latest track, this two, track two? And if you heard the track in his phenomenal lyrical fashion, do you believe that Jay Cole will be the best rapper of 2026? And do you believe Jay Cole will have the best rap album of 2026?