Production was handled by multiple producers, including Cole himself, T-Minus, Timbaland, Boi-1da, Frank Dukes, DJ Dahi, Tae Beast, and Jake One, among others.

It sold 282,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, earning Cole his sixth consecutive number-one album in the country.

Cole announced The Off-Season,[5] which will precede the release of what was originally planned to be his sixth studio album, The Fall Off.

[6] In an interview with Billboard in September 2018, Cole announced his plans to take off time in 2019 from touring to finish work on The Off-Season, The Fall Off, and his Kill Edward project.

The cover art was organized by Dreamville's creative director Felton Brown and shot in North Carolina by Justin Francis.

Cole explained the title of the mixtape, relating it to his basketball career saying: The Off-Season symbolizes the work that it takes to get to the highest height.

So for an athlete, if they take their career seriously and if they really got high goals and want to chase them, the offseason is where the magic really happens, where the ugly shit really happens, where the pain happens, the pushing yourself to uncomfortable limits.

The playlist also includes Jeezy's song "American Dream" (2017), J. Cole's singles "Everybody Dies" (2016), "False Prophets" (2016), "High for Hours" (2017), "Album of the Year (Freestyle)" (2018), and "1985" (2018).

[15] On May 4, 2021, J. Cole officially announced the release date of the album on social media, and revealed the artwork.

[19] The short film is divided into four chapters where Cole shares a behind the scenes look in the studio as well as private moments during the album's creating process.

The film was executive produced by Cole himself, Ibrahim Hamad, and Tripp Kramer, and directed by Scott Lazer.

[20][21] While describing the inspiration of the mixtape, Cole said in the documentary: This is the moment that a lot of your favorite rappers hit a crossroads.

'[22]On May 13, 2021, hours prior to its release, Cole revealed the album's tracklist and production credits via social media.

The tour included 20 North American dates, and began on September 24, 2021 in Miami and concluded on April 3, 2022, in Raleigh at the Dreamville festival.

[27] On July 22, 2020, Cole released "The Climb Back" as a dual single along with, "Lion King on Ice", under the title Lewis Street.

"Applying Pressure" features an appearance from rapper Dave East, who Cole also made a reference to in the song.

The writer continued to say "The Off-Season is a solid project with no expiration date and can easily be digested for months and years to come.

While some fans may be eager for more, The Off-Season is a great appetiser for the main dish and contains just enough for those that have been waiting for three years on The Real.

[42] Variety's Brandon Yu wrote the following: "Particularly as hip-hop continues to transform as the new pop, Cole, a steadfast rap traditionalist now a good decade into his career, might appear as a relic (for some fans, the generation-war of his "1985" read as this very truth).

"[50] Yoh Phillips of Complex called the album a "workout session", he wrote, "The Off-Season sets Cole up to create the conversation about his place in rap history, and he'll need to deliver a blockbuster finale to fulfill the premonition he made 11 years ago on "Last Call.

"[51] Craig Jenkins of Vulture said: "As the title suggests, The Off-Season is sort of a training montage, a blade-sharpening exercise not unlike Drake's If You're Reading This It's Too Late in its core objective of showing the work it takes to stay on top while cultivating buzz for a future release (in this case, Cole's forthcoming The Fall Off) – and maybe notching a few more hit records along the way.

[77] Four songs from The Off-Season debuted in the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, with "My Life" (at 2), "Amari" (at 5), "Pride Is the Devil" (at 7), and "95 South" (at 8).