I’m standing by my word: J. Cole’s debut album will be released before the end of 2011. Granted, that statement was more based off faith than knowledge, but even Cole himself knows the clock is ticking. He also understands the frustration of his fans who have been clamoring for the album even before the massively successful Friday Night Lights was released last November.

“I know my fans are frustrated with me, because I won’t give a date,” he said in an interview.”I only gave a date one time in my career last year, and I smacked myself in the face because it was so unrealistic. Now I say it’s coming soon, and it’s really true, because we’re in the final stages right now.”

He later went on to mention that even the astronomical expectations of the public pale in comparison to his own. At some point though, anticipation will turn into review and the wait will (hopefully) make the end result that much more special. Still, no one ever said every process to a debut album was identical. We’ll all have to continue to play the waiting game, mainly because we have no other option.

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