J. Cole is gearing up to hit the road once again for The Fall-Off World Tour. While Cole’s mentor, Jay-Z, holds court at Yankee Stadium this weekend, the Dreamville boss kicks off his trek in his home state of North Carolina with a pair of Charlotte shows on Friday (July 10) and Saturday (July 11).
The tour marks J. Cole’s first global run in nearly a decade and serves as the Grammy-winning rapper’s first U.S. headlining tour since 2021’s The Off-Season Tour alongside 21 Savage, which wrapped up at Cole’s Dreamville Fest in 2022.
J. Cole also joined Drake for the 6 God’s extended It’s All a Blur Tour – Big as the What? for two months of shows in early 2024.
Eight years in the making, Cole released The Fall-Off in February, which he’s billed as his final album.“The Fall-Off, a double album made with intentions to be my last, brings the concept of my first project full circle,” he wrote on social media before the LP’s arrival.
The Fall-Off launched atop the Billboard 200 — Cole’s seventh LP at the summit — with 280,000 total album-equivalent units earned.
J. Cole previously topped the Billboard 200 with The Off-Season (2021), KOD (2018), 4 Your Eyez Only (2016), 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014), Born Sinner (2013), and Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011).
Taking it back to the 2000s when he was looking to make a name for himself pursuing his rap dreams, Cole embarked on a Trunk Sale Tour across the U.S. in his old Honda Civic, where he connected with fans across the country and handed out The Fall-Off CDs.
It remains unclear if this is Cole’s final global trek, but it’s probably his last tour with new music for a while. Crafting a dream setlist, Billboard reaches back to Cole’s early days fighting for recognition with The Warm-Up to putting a bow on his catalog on The Fall-Off two decades later.
Here’s our dream setlist for The Fall-Off World Tour below.
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“39 Intro”
Album: The Fall-Off
After the fallout from dodging a battle with Kendrick Lamar, a rejuvenated Cole went back in and recorded what became a second disc for The Fall-Off. “Disc 39” serves as the intro of Cole returning home to North Carolina at 39 years old, and is a fitting welcome to The Fall-Off World Tour. While the first half feels more like a trippy entergalactic ride made for a Kid Cudi album, Cole gets back to his traditional snappy flow to get the crowd into another gear for the second half. For the tour’s version, he should probably come with a more concise version than the six-minute odyssey on the album.
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“WHO TF IZ U”
Album: The Fall-Off
Rolling into another Fall-Off standout, “WHO TF IZ U” boasts some of J. Cole’s best rapping on the album. T-Minus lays down ominous keys and thumping drums for JC to rumble through, which finds him mimicking the aggression of an Eminem flow. A cinematic beat switch should play well when booming in arenas throughout the country.
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“Two Six”
Album: The Fall-Off
The energy remains boisterous, continuing with The Fall-Off cuts, and this section wraps up with the highest-charting track from the album: “Two Six” (No. 16 peak on the Billboard Hot 100), which serves as an ode to Cole’s hometown of Fayetteville, and finds him puffing his chest and bullying the competition.
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“a m a r i”
Album: The Off-Season
Named after Bas’ nephew, “a m a r i” narrates Cole’s come-up from hungry neophyte to superstar. He recalls the days of using a stove as a heater, and now he’s sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden. Cole’s pensive bars while reflecting on his come-up close out the first act’s introduction.
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“G.O.M.D”
Album: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
Hollywood Cole returns to dive head-first into “G.O.M.D.” That refrain heading into the chorus will never get old live, nearly causing the roof to blow off every venue. “G.O.M.D” has remained a staple of Cole’s tours since its release, and that doesn’t change now.
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“Wet Dreamz”
Album: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
Fans get to bathe in the nostalgia of Forest Hills Drive for the rest of this act, as Cole takes y’all back, man, as he does so well. How many other rappers will have their fans belting out every lyric to a song about losing their virginity? (Even if Cole’s manager, Ibrahim Hamad, confirmed this was a fictional story.)
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“Apparently”
Album: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
A fan-favorite is back in the setlist rotation. We’ll call this section a 10th anniversary tribute to Forest Hills Drive. The Dreamville boss reflects on his relationship with his mother here, and how it pained him to leave her while he pursued his rap dreams. It’s safe to say things worked out OK for Jermaine.
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“Love Yourz”
Album: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
While “Love Yourz” didn’t receive the commercial acclaim as other tracks on FHD, the !llmind-produced cut is triple-platinum. Cole kicks plenty of lessons when it comes to appreciating your own journey in life while pursuing happiness. “No such thing as a life that’s better than yours” seems clichéd, but serves as a reminder not to allow the success of others to rob you of your own joy.
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“Can I Holla at Ya”
EP: Truly Yourz
The pacing of the show slows down as Cole gets reflective. Lights dim while Spanish guitars and raw drums boom through the venue speakers for “Can I Holla at Ya.” Cole clenches his fists and his frustration is palpable as he excoriates his stepfather for walking out on his mom and their family. Over a decade later, Cole is still overcome with emotion hearing that verse, which brought him to tears on his Inevitable audio series in 2024.
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“Lights Please”
Mixtape: The Warm Up
A spotlight on Cole and fans’ phone lights illuminate the arena. “Lights Please” played an integral role in Cole getting on Jay-Z’s radar and signing to Roc Nation in 2009. It would make for a full-circle moment to bring the track back on the road once again.
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“I Get Up”
Mixtape: The Warm Up
If this is Cole’s last tour for a while, there needs to be a proper homage to his mixtape era, which fans still hold close to their hearts. A sacred time when things were more intimate. When Cole returns to the stage, perhaps the 2003 Honda Civic he drove back then joins him, and he’s rocking St. John’s apparel. The horns of “I Get Up” represent a triumph, as Cole raps about turning his dreams to a reality and changing the lives of those around him.
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“Before I’m Gone”
Mixtape: Friday Night Lights
It wouldn’t be a true mixtape era act without Friday Night Lights. The 2010 project was one of the signature mixtapes of that era and for Cole, while becoming part of DatPiff’s million downloads club. Cole proved that he was ready to make the quantum leap to stardom and head into his debut album. “Before I Go” serves as the motivational medicine with Cole “painting pictures about hope” and shutting down his detractors once again.
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“Work Out”
Album: Cole World: The Sideline Story
During an Inevitable episode, J. Cole recalled feeling belittled by Jay-Z at the 2011 NBA All-Star Game when they were hanging with Drake, and Hov asked Drizzy to give Cole a hit song. Cole took it personally, and came back with “Work Out” for his The Sideline Story debut later that year. The radio-friendly track earned Cole his first top 40 entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked inside the top 15 (No. 13) in 2012.
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“Can’t Get Enough” (feat. Trey Songz)
Album: Cole World: The Sideline Story
Cole proved he was more of a dexterous hitmaker than one may have originally thought coming into his debut. “Can’t Get Enough” followed “Work Out” and saw Cole join forces with Trey Songz on the chorus, who was popping up on smashes left and right at the turn of the decade.
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“Power Trip” (feat. Miguel)
Album: Born Sinner
We’re putting a bow on this act, showcasing Cole’s progression as a hitmaker. Enter another R&B artist Cole had solid chemistry with: Miguel, for “Power Trip,” which powered 2013’s Born Sinner. Simply put, Cole developed a penchant for packaging the emotions of volatile relationships into pensive rap love songs.
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“Trae the Truth in Ibiza”
Mixtape: Might Delete Later
The “7 Minute Drill” and Kendrick Lamar controversy swallowed up much of Might Delete Later, which muddied a potential gem in “Trae the Truth in Ibiza.” This is Cole at his best, getting pensive about the past and putting the events that led him to this moment in life in proper perspective. It’s also a perfect palette cleanser leading back into The Fall-Off.
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“Old Dog” (feat. Petey Pablo)
Album: The Fall-Off
Like Petey Pablo said, take your f–king shirt off and swing it around this b–ch. The hard-hitting “Old Dog” leads us back toThe Fall-Off. As a fellow North Carolina rap dignitary, Cole has to bring out Petey Pablo at one of the opening-weekend shows in Charlotte.
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“SAFETY”
Album: The Fall-Off
The thumping drums of “Old Dog” make for a smooth transition into “SAFETY.” Cole’s in search of peace of mind and his 16s act as more of a verbal diary entry here. As far as the stage design of this act, we’re remaking The Fall-Off’s cover and bringing it to Cole’s childhood bedroom, equipped with a 2000s beat machine and a notebook on his desk.
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“Bombs in the Ville/Hit the Gas”
Album: The Fall-Off
A frenetic pace finally slows for Cole and the audience to collectively catch their breath. Showing off his versatility, the beat switches to an ethereal second half, where Cole gets melodic and even does a little singing.
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“No Role Modelz”
Album: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
It’s time for the hits to close out the set. “No Role Modelz” remains one of Cole’s signature anthems, and a must at any of his shows. The crowd’s sent into another frenzy, and everyone’s rapping his Forest Hills Drive bars at the top of their lungs.
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“Crooked Smile” (feat. TLC)
Album: Born Sinner
To think there was a time when Jay-Z was asking Drake to gift Cole a hit song — the Dreamville boss deserves more credit as a hitmaker when looking back at his catalog. “Crooked Smile” joins the hit factory section after being absent from Cole’s recent tours. Peaking at No. 27 on the Hot 100 as Born Sinner‘s second single, Cole recruited TLC for a soulful hook while he grappled with insecurities.
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“The London” (by Young Thug, feat. Travis Scott)
Album: So Much Fun
Around the turn of the decade, J. Cole decided to go on a scintillating feature run, colonizing his peers’ tracks and turning them into his own. One of those was on Young Thug’s “The London” (No. 12 Hot 100 peak), where he bats first and hits a lead-off home run, before turning things over to Thugger and Travis Scott.
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“A Lot” (by 21 Savage)
Album: I Am > I Was
Another Cole feature makes the cut as we’re coming down the stretch. The unlikely collaborators clashed for a smash with “A Lot,” which will always hold a special place for Cole, as it notched him and 21 their first Grammy wins. 21’s call-and-response plays well on the hook, while Jermaine calls out the bogus tactics running rampant in the music industry. There’s got to be a 21 Savage guest appearance in Atlanta.
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“Middle Child”
Album: Revenge of the Dreamers III
“Middle Child” is a label that could apply to J. Cole’s career in a few ways, whether that’s him feeling disrespected in Big 3 rap conversations or being stuck in the middle as the connective tissue bridging two different generations of hip-hop. The T-Minus-produced banger became one of Cole’s signature tracks, which reached the Hot 100’s top five and was eventually certified diamond by the RIAA. Being the final anthem, it gives the fans one more shot to raise the roof before heading out.
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“The Let Out”
Album: The Fall-Off
There’s no perfect way to say goodbye. Circling back to The Fall-Off, “The Let Out” is Cole at his most experimental, as nothing really sounds like he’d be heading for a corridos moment. Spanish guitars mix into the cinematic production that could soundtrack a Western movie scene. Everyone heads for the exits after a final singalong and emotional rollercoaster, with the crowd chanting along and wondering, “Will we survive the let out?”
