New Rory & MAL - Episode 453: "THE MAL-OFF"

Release Date: February 10, 2026
Hosts: Rory, Mal (referred to as "Maul"), Peach, Baby D

Overview

This episode features the crew diving deep into the aftermath of the Super Bowl, hot takes on the halftime show and commercials, and an extensive, passionate roundtable review and debate of J. Cole’s highly anticipated double album, The Fall Off. Opinions fly, jokes hit, and the crew brings all their critical and cultural insight to bear. This episode is especially rich for hip-hop heads, music fans, and those curious about today's pop culture climate.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Super Bowl Recap and Vibes

[02:55 – 07:24]

• Patriots vs. Seahawks: The group feels the game was underwhelming and lopsided.
  • Peach calls it “the most boring Super Bowl of all time,” to which Rory counters, “People can’t say it’s the most boring, because if it’s a game where both teams score 40… y’all say nobody plays defense” [02:58]
  • Baby D and Rory agree Seahawks' defense overwhelmed the Patriots and rookie QB Drake May: “The announcers made a good point… I don’t think the world knew how good Seattle’s defense was.” [04:22]
  • Discussion over whether Patriots’ loss was their own coaching failure or Seahawks’ dominance.
• Super Bowl Party Scene: Poking fun at not getting into exclusive clubs/bonded spaces.
• Halftime Discussion: Green Day’s nostalgia and widespread appeal ("If you hate Green Day, I don’t want to be around that person. You just hate life." – Rory [07:49])
• Coco Jones & Bad Bunny: Praise for Coco Jones’s Whitney homage; discussion of Bad Bunny’s halftime performance and its cultural polarization.

The Great Halftime Show Debate

[08:15 – 18:41]

• Bad Bunny’s Set:
  • Baby D calls it “cool” but not life-changing for a non-fan. Discussion about why a Spanish-language act divides America for an "American football" event.
    • “For the people that love his music, which is a huge group… I was focused on the bushes moving…I thought whoever put the set together is incredible.” – Baby D [10:17]
    • “We understand why Bad Bunny was hired. It’s to get people to tune in around the world.” – Rory [11:04]
    • Peach notes: “When I was talking to my friends who don’t live in New York City, I remembered that I live in New York City, so I hear Bad Bunny without even playing him on my phone.” [14:54]
  • Should super bowl acts “represent America,” or should they be global? The hosts argue both sides.
  • Suggestion for subtitles to help the non-Spanish-speaking audience; group agrees, but debate about whether it would work in practice.
• Race, Inclusion, and American Identity:
  • Peach: "A large percentage of America got to see their star…there’s a lot of Hispanic speaking people in our country.” [22:43]
  • Baby D pokes fun at “progressive” sentiment with, “Y’all try. I know. I'm trying to make a progressive point and actually being racist.” [23:04]
  • Rory defends ratings logic, “Halftime show is about getting the money for the sponsorships…who else to do it?” [11:44]

Chris Brown’s Not-So-Subtle Shade

[24:06 – 28:40]

• Chris Brown’s “Y’all Needed Me” Post:
  • Group dissects Chris Brown’s seemingly salty social post right after halftime, widely interpreted as a dig at Bad Bunny’s performance.
  • “The tone of it, it was corny. Chris, we love you, but you didn’t have to do it like that.” – Rory [27:13]
  • The group agrees Chris would easily tear down a Super Bowl halftime and that his moment will come, but his shade is unnecessary.
  • Peach suggests if Chris ever gets the stage, “he should do the whole show in Spanish … The El Breezy Bowl.” [28:40]

50 Cent’s Legendary Petty Super Bowl Commercial

[34:46 – 36:16]

• 50 Cent and DoorDash knock Diddy: The team laughs and marvels over 50 Cent’s Super Bowl ad’s petty references to Diddy’s legal troubles.
  • “He took his petty all the way to the bowl.” – Rory [34:54]
  • Baby D: “When they go low, we go to the bowl.” [35:07]
• DoorDash & Food Fails: Peach’s failed Wingstop delivery becomes a mini comedy bit.

Transition to The Mal-Off (J. Cole Album Review Roundtable)

[39:41+]

The Mal-Off: J. Cole’s The Fall Off in the Hot Seat

(This is the biggest segment of the episode. It’s highly detailed, honest, and, at times, heated. The hosts trade lengthy, nuanced, and passionate takes.)

First Impressions and Standouts

[39:41 – 43:07]

• Peach and Baby D lead with initial reactions:
  • Peach enjoyed the album, especially Disc 29, but says, “Not his best, not his worst. I’m very proud to be a Cole fan … Standouts: ‘Who the Fuck Is You,’ ‘Hit the Gas,’ ‘Quick Stop,’ ‘Life Sentence,’ ‘Old Dog.’” [41:44]
  • Baby D cautions about double albums’ risk and says, “When he started with the Remember the Titans on the intro… I’m on board.” [43:07]

Track-by-Track, Constructive Critiques

[43:07 – 60:14]

• Baby D reviews several cuts with detail:
  • Praises: “Safety” (“Favorite version of Cole rapping”), “Run a Train” (though would prefer a different artist on the hook), “Bunts Road Blues” with Tems and Future, and use of Burna Boy.
  • Disappointments: “The Let Out” (“What a way to kill it… One of the worst songs Cole has made” [46:46], but acknowledges some fans seem to love it).
  • Repeated critique: Overuse of other artists’ hooks, sometimes pasted on and “lazy.” “The concept is too good… to make it sound like how it sounded.”
  • Asserts that on Disc 39, J. Cole “tries to do everything himself” (production, hooks), and that hinders the album’s overall cohesion: “When you’re making 24 records…we need some help!” [59:49]

Big Themes: Hooks, Song-Making, and Critique of ‘What If’

[60:14 – 79:04]

• Hooks & Song Structure:

  • “He never fully corrected his flawed approach to hooks… hooks not holding up the bars.” – Rory [64:06]
  • Discuss how Cole’s tendency to do everything himself (production, songwriting, hooks) is a double-edged sword—displays talent, but sometimes misses magic.
  • Group notes that the reuse of iconic hooks (OutKast, DMX, etc.) often feels awkward or misapplied.

• Lazy or Loyal?

  • Peach leaps to Cole’s defense (“The song is about his wife being down from the beginning—how is the DMX ‘How’s It Goin’ Down’ hook not relevant?” [53:10]) but agrees sometimes song craft could be improved.

• Addressing the Elephant: The ‘What If’ Song

  • All find “What If”—Cole rapping from the perspective of Biggie and Tupac—misguided.
    • “You’re not the person who does this—you’re making my job hard.” – Peach [78:33]
    • “It gives, ‘if they would've apologized like I did, they'd still be alive,’ and it makes me want to choke myself. That’s nasty.” – Peach [78:35]
    • Baby D suspects this song originated as a take on Cole/Kendrick/Drake, but Cole opted for a safer historic angle to avoid controversy: “At some point in the studio, J. Cole had an idea of doing this song…from the perspective of Drake and Kendrick…and someone said, ‘Bro, don’t do that.’” [75:59]
  • All agree the song’s execution is off, verging on tactless, with Peach adding, “We gotta stop speaking from the perspective of dead people. This is disrespectful.” [80:02]

Overall Album Take: Underwhelmed, But Still Respect

[63:27 – 105:53]

• Maul/Mal states:

  • “I was underwhelmed… we waited almost 10 years for this project.”
  • Acknowledges high moments but asserts, “Too many hooks felt lazy; references to other artists' hooks felt like placeholders.” [64:44]
  • Album’s production, length, and song construction didn’t fully live up to anticipation.
  • Found some moments where he wished other Dreamville artists (like JID) were more involved in song-making.

• Rory & Baby D echo:

  • “Too much Cole,” “double disc is dangerous waters,” “to do two discs, your song-making ability has to be at an incredible volume.”
  • “I just don’t know if two discs for me was necessary.” – Baby D [60:40]

• Anticipation vs. Reality:

  • All agree: such prolonged anticipation made it almost impossible for Cole to meet expectations.
  • Peach: “When the anticipation is that high, there’s no way you meet it…” [102:18]
  • Rory: “He fell way short of the anticipation.” [102:47]

Cole’s Legacy, Comparison to Drake, Kendrick, Wale

[105:53 – 114:57]

• All agree J. Cole remains “one of the greatest rappers” no matter what.
• Agree that his “Achilles heel” is and has always been hooks and pure song-making finesse.
• Compare Cole to Drake and Kendrick in terms of hitmaking; Peach and Rory argue Kendrick is notably better making hit songs (“Kendrick is significantly better at that than Cole.” – Peach [111:13]).
• Surprise Wale Props:
  • Rory, prompted by earlier debates with Baby D, says: “Everything is a Lie [Wale’s recent album] is better than this J. Cole album… It might be closer [between Cole and Wale] than I thought it was.” [113:20]
  • “Wale specializes on that… One of my favorite songmakers, period.” – Baby D [114:05]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If you hate Green Day, I don’t want to be around that person. You just hate life." – Rory [07:49]
• “When they go low, we go to the bowl.” – Baby D [35:07]
• "For all the Dreamville listeners… I’m not saying what he should have done. Telling as a consumer how I felt." – Baby D [61:04]
• “We gotta stop speaking from the perspective of dead people. This is disrespectful.” – Peach [80:02]
• “When the anticipation is that high, there’s no way you meet it… Rarely does anybody meet it.” – Peach [102:18]
• “He fell way short of the anticipation.” – Rory [102:47]
• “J. Cole is still, no, he’s one of the greatest rappers that’s ever lived… discography is still amazing.” – Baby D [102:01]
• “Everything is a Lie is better than this J. Cole album.” – Rory [113:20]

Lighter Notes & Closing Vibes

[121:05+]

• Shoutouts to Don Tolliver for his album “Octane,” which they say outclasses much-hyped artists like Playboi Carti.
• Quick aside on NBA Youngboy love: “I’m a NBA Youngboy—be a Youngboy. But yeah, that Don Tolliver album is incredible, I love that project.” – Rory [121:56]
• Joke about Britney Renner’s religious journey and loving “problematic” women.
• Peach closes by sending gratitude to Cole, “If this is your last album, thank you for everything over the course of your career.” [117:25]
• The crew doubts this is really Cole’s last album: “You cannot go out like this! Ain’t no way.” – Rory [117:08]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Super Bowl Recap: [02:55 – 07:24]
• Halftime Show/Bad Bunny Discussion: [08:15 – 18:41]
• Chris Brown’s Instagram Shade: [24:06 – 28:40]
• 50 Cent Super Bowl Commercial: [34:46 – 36:16]
• Beginning of J. Cole Review (“The Mal-Off”): [39:41+]
• ‘Let Out’ and The Double Album Problem: [46:41 – 49:11]
• The 'What If' Track Debate: [73:29 – 80:04]
• Album Wrap and Legacy Discussion: [105:53 – 116:06]
• Cole/Wale songcraft comparison: [113:02 – 114:57]

Tone & Style

The episode keeps the irreverent, humorous, but deeply passionate tone the show is known for. The crew isn’t afraid to challenge each other and bring up “unpopular” takes, but there’s always a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect—especially as they pick apart one of hip-hop’s modern icons with equal parts love and disappointment.

Takeaways (for New Listeners)

This episode is a clear must-listen for anyone trying to understand the crossroads hip-hop is currently at: balancing nostalgia, cultural inclusion, criticism of pop music machinery, and the challenges of artistic legacy.
If you’re a J. Cole fan, you’ll get both thoughtful praise and incisive critique. If you’re about cultural moments like the Super Bowl, the halftime show debate is particularly insightful. If you want to watch friends engage in real, unfiltered music criticism—without pandering to stans—you’ll love “THE MAL-OFF.”