The hip-hop world is currently loving J. Cole’s Birthday Blizzard ’26 EP, which he released yesterday ahead of his 41st birthday. The jam has been going on for days now, with fans dissecting the lines and getting even more excited for “The Fall-Off,” which, of course, will be dropping in a week.
Just minutes ago, Cole took to Instagram to share the album’s second cover, along with some of the inspiration behind it. He revealed that a current photo of his old setup with the ASR X Pro was indeed one of the covers, but since the album was a double disc, he wanted a cover with his face on it to reflect where he was at the time of release.
What’s even more interesting is that he revealed that the album was inspired to become a double album after the events of Kendrick Lamar and Drake’s battle, at Dreamville Fest 2024, where he withdrew due to feeling uncomfortable with the release of “7 Minute Drill.” He said the concept expanded with new inspirations, which made it into two parts.
Check out his full statement and cover art below.

