“​i n t e r l u d e” is the second single from J. Cole’s sixth studio album, The Off-Season. On the brief track, Cole raps about his come-up and presence at the throne of the rap game. It includes a single verse that covers topics ranging from personal trauma and the pain of loss to death and religion.

Cole revealed the song’s ensuing release and cover less than eleven hours before it dropped. The post’s caption read:

Told myself I would drop the album all at once. Sometimes you gotta say fuck it tho. New song tonight. 12 o’clock.

Although it is labeled the interlude, it is actually the second shortest song on the album, after the fifth song, “p u n c h i n ’ . t h e . c l o c k.”