J. Cole
J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole, better known by his stage name J. Cole, is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. Cole first received recognition in 2007, following the release of his debut mixtape, The Come Up. Shortly after the release of The Warm Up in 2009, Cole was contacted by American rapper Jay Z and subsequently signed to his record label Roc Nation. In that same year, Cole released his second mixtape, The Warm Up, which was itself followed by Cole's...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth28 January 1985
CountryUnited States of America
I still wanna rap better than everybody else, and I wanna say important things.
In hip-hop, there's not a lot of love. There's not a lot of love being spread. It's always like 'I'm stuntin' on you raps, or I'm better than you raps.' It's not a lot of 'Yo man, I idolize you raps.'
Touring is very routine. You get to the city, you go to the hotel, you got to be at the hotel by a certain time - it's very routine. I'm not a very structured person, so when I get some structure, it's cool; it's good for me.
I was just a goofy little funny kid, who was always getting sent to the principal. It wasn't serious because I was smart. I wasn't like a true troublemaker, just rambunctious - like, talkative and trying to be funny. That was me in middle-school.
I'm the same kid who used to hop the trains with headphones and just go to downtown Manhattan, walk around and listen to music or walk through the city. The fame restricts that. It's a small complaint in comparison to the benefits I get from it, but the restrictive part is what I don't like - and the fact that it's not reversible.
I was a huge Mike Tyson fan growing up; his fights were always on in my house.
It's no coincidence that all the greatest rappers - whoever you put in your top five - I guarantee you they are great storytellers.
I had a rat-tail when I was younger. I had this nice Bobby Brown fade, with a rat-tail that was long enough to wrap around my face. I used to chew on the end and bite it.
I was a super-duper Tupac fan, and I realized later, when I became a huge Nas fan and a huge Eminem fan, I was drawn to the storytellers. They all told stories in different ways, but they were all like the best storytellers.
I kinda like the idea of having an album that's all me.
I pay attention to lyrics and I know what rap fans care about. I try to write for the average listener and I'm conscious of the mainstream without selling out.
The music becomes more pure and soulful when it's true, and it has to be true these days with the way the internet works, and the way the game works, everyone wants authentic raps.
I just feel like, with rappers, there's so much complacency. It's like, 'Oh, I'm a rapper. I'm successful. I make money. That's all that matters.' But there's a lot of stuff going on in the world. Whether or not you're aware of it, it's happening.
I do put a lot of God in my music, but not because I'm super religious. There are a lot of demons in my music, too. I acknowledge both.