Is J. Cole hanging up his mic after releasing the upcoming album, The Fall Off?

Cole made a big music announcement via Instagram on Tuesday (Dec. 29), appearing to reveal he has multiple projects in the works. However, the caption of the revelation has people thinking retirement is near for the rap superstar. The photo itself featured a list titled The Fall Off Era, under which are a list of words. The words Features and ROTD3 are crossed out, signifying they have been completed. The words The Off Season, It's a Boy and The Fall Off are under that. The caption reads, "I still got some goals I gotta check off for’ I scram…"

While elated that we may be getting new Cole music soon, some fans have grabbed on to the "[before] I scram" part in the caption, which appears to imply that The Fall Off will be the N.C. MC's last project. "J. Cole pretty much just confirmed his retirement from rap will be after The Fall Off sad too see the first rapper I really got hooked on retire," one Twitter user posted.

"J. Cole basically announcing his retirement," another person wrote on Twitter. "Sad af. First artist I ever really got into. Crazy crazy."

Not everyone was totally sad about the retirement speculation. "Much love & respect going out to @JColeNC!" someone else typed. "The Fall Off might just be your retirement plan. Always looking forward to what you're planning to release next. Let the journey lead you into prosperity. You're incredible, bro!"

Cole first revealed The Fall Off via the final track of his most recent album KOD (2018). A few weeks later, he confirmed the album. In 2019, he teased a 2020 release for the LP. It was later revealed that the coronavirus delayed progress on the album. Cole released two singles in July, "The Climb Back" and "Lion King on Ice."

See more Twitter reactions from people thinking J. Cole is going to retire after The Fall Off below.

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