"Album of the Year (Freestyle)" is a song by American rapper

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

. It was released on August 7, 2018 through

Dreamville Records Dreamville Records is an American record label founded by American rapper J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim Hamad. The label is currently distributed through Interscope Records, a unit of Universal Music Group. The roster includes Bas (rapper), B ...

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

, and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

Background

On August 7, 2018, Cole released "Album of the Year (Freestyle)" over the instrumental to

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

' and

the Bravehearts Bravehearts are an East Coast hip hop group from New York, New York. The group's roster originally included Jungle (born Jabari Jones, son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dara, and younger brother of hip hop star Nas), Wiz (born Mike Epps), and Horse (born ...

' 2001 single, "

Oochie Wally Oochie Wally is a collaborative single by American rapper Nas and East Coast hip hop group Bravehearts. It was released on January 6, 2001, by Ill Will Records and Columbia Records as the second single for the compilation album ''Nas & Ill Will R ...

". The single was accompanied by a music video, which premiered on

WorldStarHipHop WorldStarHipHop is a content-aggregating video blog. Zurawik, David.Worldstarhiphop.com makes a name for itself with shocking viral videos". ''The Baltimore Sun''. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 22, 2012Alternate link to the same article fro ...

. Cole also announced a new project titled, ''

The Off Season ''The Off Season'' is a 2004 independent horror film directed by James Felix McKenney and produced by Larry Fessenden's Glass Eye Pix. It was filmed in Old Orchard Beach, Maine and distributed through Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Plot In th ...

'', which Cole planned to release ahead of his next studio album, ''The Fall Off''. The video's description reads: ''The Off Season coming soon... All roads lead to The Fall Off - Cole''".

Music video

The song's accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was released on August 7, 2018 as a

exclusive. The video was directed by Simon David, and was filmed in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

Charts

References

{{authority control 2018 songs J. Cole songs Songs written by J. Cole 2018 singles Songs written by Nas