“Can’t leave the game yet, I feel like LeBron James”: J Cole shouts out NBA superstars Ja Morant and Russell Westbrook on ‘The Off-Season’

J Cole references and shouts out NBA superstars such as Damian Lillard, LeBron James, and Ja Morant on his new album ‘The Off-Season’. 

Somehow, someway, J Cole dropped a new album before Drake could drop Certified Lover Boy; and J Cole did not disappoint one bit. Everything from his consistently impactful lyrics to references to his previous work such as a notably similar flows heard on Middle Child, Cole brought out all the guns on The Off-Season. 

Embedded within the 12 tracks however, were couple of surprises, to say the least. Known as a solo act for the most part, the recently signed professional hooper brought along fellow hip-hop sensations 21 Savage and Lil Baby on his tracks. 

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Within a bevy of songs in the album, J Cole laid out a couple of bars that shouted out superstars within the NBA today. Guys like LeBron James, Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, and Russell Westbrook were all referenced in the twelve track masterpiece. 

J Cole shouts out LeBron James and Ja Morant 

Cole has had a knack for paying homage to popular figures in hip-hop culture, and he carried it over into the NBA world quite seamlessly. 

On his track 100 Mil, J Cole lets his fans know that he feels as though he can’t quit the game just yet as he knows he has more to offer. “Can’t leave the game yet, I feel like LeBron.” This isn’t the first time he’s referenced the ‘King’ in his songs as he also dropped a bar about LeBron James on the aforementioned, ‘Middle Child’. 

Amari had a reference to Russell Westbrook’s ‘rock-a-baby’ celebration as he said, “Kill a song, walk out the booth, do the Westbrook rock-a-baby.” 

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J Cole showed that he’s still in touch with the younger generation as well as he shouted out Ja Morant on ‘My Life’, saying, “Ja Morant, I’m on my Grizzly,” referencing his team, the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Perhaps his most notable shout-out would be the beginning and end of ‘Punchin the Clock’ where he sampled Damian Lillard’s postgame speech from the Bubble after dropping 61 points to help lead the Blazers to the 8th seed in the 2020 Playoffs.