J. Cole is drawing closer to releasing his sixth studio album, The Fall. While the album has no release date yet, Cole has just dropped two new singles, “The Climb” and “Lion King on Ice,” from the upcoming project.
The North Carolina rapper’s latest tracks appeared on a new single titled Lewis Street. This refers to Cole’s previous address in his native Fayetteville where he and his family lived before moving to Forest Hills Drive – the name of his third studio album.
“The Climb Back” is a self-produced effort by the Dreamville boss and sees Cole rap about his journey to rediscover his love for rap. On “The Lion King on Ice” Cole switches things up, linking with producer JetsonMade and the rapper’s frequent collaborator T-Minus. On this track, Cole returns to his alter-ego Simba, rapping over a darker beat, featuring trap elements and heavy bass.
Two days before releasing the songs, Cole published an essay titled “The Audacity” in which he discussed several critical periods of his life and addressed the persistent compulsion to achieve his goals. The essay can be seen as a prelude to the tracks, specifically “The Climb Back.” In the text, he uses the word “climb” to describe how he advanced himself in each of these periods.
“The Climb” and “Lion King on Ice” are the first singles from the highly-anticipated album The Fall. You can stream them below.