J.Cole, the North Carolina rapper is taking his latest album directly to fans through an old-school grassroots approach

J. Cole is turning back the clock to his come-up days, planning to sell physical copies of his new album, The Fall Off, straight from the trunk of his car.

The Fayetteville, North Carolina, artist announced his unconventional promotional strategy in a recent social media post, complete with a throwback photo of his Honda Civic’s open trunk loaded with boxes of CDs—a scene that harks back to hip-hop’s DIY era.

The approach represents a nostalgic callback to the pre-streaming age, when aspiring artists built their careers one physical sale at a time. Hip-hop pioneers including Master P, Jay-Z, and Uncle Luke famously employed similar tactics, hawking their music from vehicle trunks to build grassroots followings before achieving mainstream success.

In his announcement on X, Cole revealed he’s refitted his old Civic—now equipped with a new engine—alongside a tour bus and several sprinter vans for what he’s calling the “Trunk Sale Tour 26.”

“As a teenager, I had copies of the Fayettenam Bommuh’s album that Nervous gave me to sell,” Cole wrote, referencing his early days hustling CDs at gas stations. “I used to go up to the gas stations trying to sell the album to strangers, ‘Yo you like hip hop??’ Was the beginning of the sales pitch.”

True to the spontaneous spirit of his youth, Cole hasn’t released an official schedule or route for the tour. Instead, he’s keeping the venture deliberately unstructured.

“I don’t know where we bout to drive to, but catch me outside! Cop a CD from me or just show love,” he told fans. “I truly appreciate all the love and the reaction to the music.”

The guerrilla marketing campaign represents an increasingly rare sight in today’s digital music landscape, where streaming platforms have largely replaced physical sales. For Cole, the move appears as much about reconnecting with fans on a personal level as it is about promoting The Fall Off.