THE GUESTLIST NETWORK | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2011 J. COLE


Jermaine Lamarr Cole, aka J. Cole, has already impressed Jay-Z and is now set to impress the world. We catch up with the rapper from Carolina when he supported Hip/Hop superstar Drake at the Hammersmith Apollo earlier this month.


Mr. Wondah


HIPHOP//RNB 29


It’s your second time in the UK I believe? Yeah, my last time was Wireless festival last year.


How are you finding it? I am loving it man, it’s better than last time, it’s an incredible response.


I understand that you were born in Germany? So what’s it like being born in Germany and obviously growing up in North Carolina. Well you know I had a military family. My mother was in the military for a minute, I don’t know if she was in the army when she had me and I don’t know if she got out after she had me but, my father was in the military too. They were stationed out in Frankfurt in Germany, so that’s how I ended up being born there. I didn’t stay long though. It wasn’t long until we were back in Fair View. Fair View was connected to probably one of the largest military bases in America, it’s called Forbrad. So Fair View and Forbrad go hand in hand.


So how was life growing up in Fayetteville?


I think I was blessed, in the sense that I saw life on many levels, like there are not many things that I didn’t know about. The only thing I didn’t really know about was being rich. I didn’t know what that was like. But I could tell you what it was like to be poor, what it was like to be middle class, to have


two family incomes. I had a step father at one point and had two cars in the garage and one beat up car outside. I could tell you what it was like to share a room with my brother on a bunk bed and I could tell you what it was like to have my own room. There were so many levels of life. I could tell you what it was like to have best friends that where selling dope and have good friends of mine that where white kids form the suburbs. It’s a crazy mixture, my life period was a mixture, you know.


You started rapping at 12 and also making beats at 15. Who are your musical inspirations from back then? I always say the same people. Like my favourite rappers were Tupac, Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem. Well Cannabis was big for me when he started rapping, he was lyri- cally on a whole other level. That was my rap influences but man growing up I was listening to everything you know like ‘Bobby Brown’, ‘Keith Sweat’ and there was like ‘Kool Moe Dee’, there was like you know ‘Chris Cross’ at one point because I was like a little boy so I was listening to that. ‘Soul 4 Real’, ‘Mariah Carey’. I was just a regular kid that loved all the different genre. I was falling in love with ‘Mariah Carey’ and you know ‘Monica’, I was the kid that was into it all. When I started rapping I started paying attention differently.


My research came across where you tried to hand ‘Jay-Z’ a mix tape and he kind of dissed you to a degree, what’s the story behind that? Yeah, Jay-Z if you are listening to this man, you dissed me man. Nah but he really did and I know why. At the time I was trying to give him a beat CD because I was trying to get in his album. I’m just this kid thinking I can just get on with my beats, like ‘Kanye’ got on with his beats. I said “man I’m going to get on with my beats too. So I heard ‘Jay-Z’ was coming out with his ‘American Gangster’ album and I just heard he just opened up a studio in New York so I put two and two together and I made a beat. I showed up outside the studio and waited 3 hours. When he showed up I tried handing him the CD he just wouldn’t take it and he was kind of rude about it, but it’s all good, I understand. At that time he probably gets that like every day, you know what I’m saying. When he did it, it kind of like hit me straight away. I was like man, this is not how it’s going to happen for me. I will never get on with a trick, and that was like a trick for me, waiting on somebody outside. There are people that would do that and turn up the next day and do it again, and again.


Not you though?


Nah, it took that one time, and I knew right away that. Nope that doesn’t feel good, I’m going to go get it another way and then 1 year later I was right in his


office the proper way, because he had heard from some people and word of mouth by people he respected, so you know .


So what happens if an artist comes up to you and trys to give you a CD? Are you going to do the same thing? I’m going to tell you the truth... no! I’m not going to do that to them. Probably because I hate the way that felt, I’ll take it but I can’t lie, I really don’t have the time to listen to things. But at least I can take the CD, because at least that will give them hope. You know what i’m saying, even if they never hear from me again and I never call them, just the fact that I might have their CD somewhere in the world and be listening to it, it could just inspire you in some kind of way. It’s the possibility, just the possibility makes them in- spired to carry on. So until the day it gets me sued which hopefully it doesn’t, because you know some- times when you take CD’s people will try and sue you, so i’ll try and do this for as long as I can.


The track ‘Lights Please’ is the track that changed your life, because that’s the track that Jay-Z heard first and it’s from the mix tape The Comma. Give me the creative thinking behind that track. When I am performing the song lately, I have realised that it rep- resents me fully, because as an artist my persona J. Cole is always fighting the bad side, and I believe


that ‘Lights Please’ is the personi- fication of that encapsulated in one song. It’s because that’s who I am. No because it’s got great hooks or great melodies but be- cause the theme of it represents me that this guy that means well but you are only human so you are always going to fall. It kind of represents my career like it tried to give you that knowledge until you give them this or that kind of record, or this kind of subject.


You’re representing Rock Na- tion and all the A-list rappers and all the peers, and all the eyes are on you. Do you feel any particular pressure now, because let’s face it, people are anticipating your album like an A-List Album release? No, I don’t think about that. That thought never comes into my mind. I’m more so concerned with myself and what my expectations are. When I listen to my album, I think about, do I like this? Would I consider this as a classic? I know classic albums because I love them. I have been listen- ing to them for so long, so that’s what I think about. I don’t think about whether I’m living up to the Rock Nation standards, Jay-Z’s standards, the fans standards. I’m like man, if I’m happy, my expecta- tions are greater than theirs. They don’t even know the level of what I think for myself so as long as I can meet mine, then I know that I can surpass everyone else’s on the album.


You featured on ‘Jay-Z’s Star Is Born on Blueprint 3. What exactly stands out in your mind as you were in the stu- dio with a Hip Hop Legend? Man to me the whole thing was like proving myself on that one. When you have someone like ‘Jay-Z’ that has done it on every level from being underground to being someone who was trying to get to the mainstream, then to someone that actually did it, to someone who has been ruling the rap scene for so long. He has seen it on every level, so it’s kind of hard to impress someone like that, you know.


What production and artist collaborations can we expect? Well, artist collaborations don’t expect too many, because I’m trying to keep it stick to my guns and keep the first album me. Pro- duction wise though, me on the majority of it. No, ID has a few, not only does he have a few he gave me knowledge you know what I’m saying, to hold my production up. Danger Hands has one incredible song on there.


J. Cole is currently supporting Drake on his European tour. 2011 promises big things from J. Cole.


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