Fresh off the release of his album The Off-Season, J. Cole actually is in the off-season as he has just finished up his contract playing pro basketball in Africa. Now pivoting focus back to his music, Cole drops a visual to his brief track “Punchin The Clock.”
Much like his previous “Applying Pressure” visual, “Punchin’ The Clock” was directed by Scott Lazer and pays homage to New York City. This time, it shows the very-NYC act of attempting to catch a yellow cab. Once Cole finally secures a ride, he fires off verses about getting back into the swing of things.
The song’s intro and outro is a audio clip of Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who reflects on the importance of putting in hard work in the off-season in order for it to pay off later, clearly a metaphor for Cole’s album as a whole. “In the summer, I think when you truly prepare yourself, and with training and conditioning, and things like that, when you cheat yourself, you fail in those moments,” Lillard says at the song’s close. “You know, you crash, and when you really put the time in and whether people see it, or whether people know it or not, you know, it always come to light.”
Watch J. Cole’s “Punchin’ The Clock” video above.
The Off-Season is out now via Dreamville. Get it here.