The Rise of J. Cole, over the years

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

The world is just getting to know J. Cole, but the hip hop world has been well aware of Jermaine for over three years. While hip hop fans may know a bit about J. Cole, few know the overall story. J. Cole, while from the South, does not fit the stereotypical mold of being a rapper from the South.

Since the age of fourteen, J. Cole has been rapping. While he grew up in a tough city, J. Cole kept his head in the books. This led to him going to St. John's University on an academic scholarship. During this time, J. Cole often displayed his raps and songs. Upon graduating, he released his debut mixtape.

His debut mixtape, The Come Up, gained acclaim for the single, "Lights Please." The song helped establish J. Cole as an artst and it eventually was heard by Jay-Z. At the time, Jay-Z was preparing to leave his longtime home, Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, for his new label, Roc Nation. One clause in his contract with Def Jam was Jay-Z having to leave his Roc-A-Fella artists behind.

Needing to start fresh, Jay-Z was looking for fresh talent, so he signed J. Cole in 2008. Jay-Z spent most of 2008 establishing his Roc Nation label. In 2009, Jay-Z started working on The Blueprint 3. J. Cole decided to keep himself hot and he released his second mixtape, The Warm Up. The mixtape also contained "Lights Please" and was met with more critical acclaim than most of the albums released in 2009. After releasing two successful mixtapes, many fans were wondering when J. Cole's debut album would be released.

J. Cole promised fans his debut album would be released in 2010. Before the summer, J. Cole released a single, "Who Dat." The song received massive radio play in his native, North Carolina. "Who Dat" also did well in other markets, but no album release date was scheduled. With Roc Nation shifting their focus to the young daughter of Will Smith, Willow Smith, J. Cole released another mixtape. Friday Night Lights was also met with a strong critical reaction, but no album came.

Despite not having an album out, J. Cole's mixtapes were doing very well and he had songs in radio rotation, even music videos. Aside from his own work, many mainstream artists were featuring J. Cole on their albums. While the collaborations and mixtapes were nice, fans still patiently waited on J. Cole to release his debut album. During the summer of 2011, J. Cole said his album would be released on September 27 and not a day later.

But, with no music being released, many were beginning to give up on J. Cole. It was then when J. Cole prepared to release Cole World: The Sideline Story. Now, J. Cole is one of the biggest names in overall entertainment. With his album not even a month old, J. Cole is already working on his second album. Much like his mentor, Jay-Z, J. Cole intends to release a new album every year. On the mixtape level, J. Cole managed to give fans a new release every other year, with his singles keeping the fans entertained.

Read more...

J. Cole's "Cole World: The Sideline Story" debuts atop the Billboard 200

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

From the moment he was signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation, every move made by J. Cole was legendary. Representing North Carolina, J. Cole was hailing from an undeveloped rap scene. During the early 2000s, Petey Pablo had given buzz to North Carolina. But, following his movement, no mainstream artists came.

J. Cole was unlike the typical Southern rappers, as his drawl is barely heard on his records. Also, J. Cole has a lyrical ability unmated by most current rappers, regardless of genre. The overall style of J. Cole immediately made him one of the brightest new stars in the rap game. Mainstream hip hop fans did not have a chance to hear J. Cole until his verse on "A Star is Born."

Despite being signed to Roc Nation, and featured on The Blueprint 3, J. Cole still did not have a solid release date. Because of this, J. Cole flooded the mixtape scene. In 2010, his Friday Night Lights mixtape proved to be his final one. A little less than a year later, J. Cole has finally released his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. The album was projected to sell over 200,000 copies in its first week and has done so, debuting on the top of the Billboard Top 200 albums.

With this, J. Cole has had the highest debut for a North Carolina rapper.

Read more...

J. Cole disucusses "Cole World: The Sideline Story" delays

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Tomorrow, J. Cole will finally release his debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. For well over two years, fans have been patiently waiting on this album. Now, all of the waiting and all of the delays are over. J. Cole is finally ready to deliver fans his debut album.

If 2011 went by without J. Cole releasing his debut album, most fans would have officially stopped waiting on him. Last year, J. Cole released his "Who Dat" single, which generated a little buzz. Many assumed the single would be the first offering from his debut album, but the single lost steam and no album came.

During the summer, many began to wonder where J. Cole had gone and he came back. J. Cole conducted an interview and he promised fans his debut album would be coming out before the end of 2011. In later months, J. Cole boldly announced his album would be released no later than September 27. Now, his album is coming out and J. Cole has two hit singles currently buzzing.

J. Cole said his album was delayed because he wanted to release "Can't Get Enough" with Trey Songz as his first single a year ago. But, when the label denied him, J. Cole instead decided to release his Friday Night Lights mixtape. Now, a year later, "Work Out" is his current hit and "Can't Get Enough" is going to be his second single from the album. Because he could not get "Can't Get Enough" as his single, J. Cole released a lot of his album tracks on the mixtape.

Read more...

J. Cole to release Summer Mixtape

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

With his debut album coming at the end of September, J. Cole is delivering one more mixtape for the fans. For two years, J. Cole has been working on his debut album. Due to the length in time, some of the topics have grown outdated. Because of this, J. Cole is releasing several of his unused tracks on a mixtape.

J. Cole has released two previous mixtapes, The Warm Up, and the most-recent Friday Night Lights. However, his upcoming mixtape will be a little different. When he put the previous two together, J. Cole said he worked on those mixtapes, as if they were albums. It will be sometime this summer when J. Cole releases the mixtape.

This fall, J. Cole plans to released Cole World: The Sideline Story, his official debut album. When asked of his dream collaborations, J. Cole said he would like to work with Rihanna, Willow Smith, Jay Electronica, Jay-Z (the Roc Nation family), and a few others.

Read more...

Drake turns down J. Cole competition

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

This year was supposed to be the year when Drake and J. Cole competed for the "future of hip hop" title. Drake was hailed as the protege of Lil Wayne, while J. Cole was the face of the Roc Nation movement. Both rappers started with great buzz, but an album came from Drake and J. Cole had only one single.

Towards the end of the summer, there were rumors of a feud going on between the two rappers. Initially, Drake and J. Cole were friends. But, with so many magazines and websites reporting about them, words were easily twisted. In the end, there was no beef, but the media made it seem otherwise.

In an effort to put those sort of rumors to rest, Drake jumped on the new J. Cole mixtape, Friday Night Lights. The two collaborated on the song, "In the Morning." When word spread about Drake sharing the mic with J. Cole, fans immediately wanted to see a battle between the two. But, if the fans wanted a battle, they were terribly out of luck.

First off, Drake said the song is not even a battle-type record. The song is slowed-down and it is one of those songs for the female fans. While Drake has been hailed as a lyrical rapper, he still knows how to break it down for the ladies. J. Cole has also been known to do a few records for the ladies. Aside from the nature of the song, Drake feels as if it is too early in both rappers' respective careers to begin trying to show which one is the best.

Because of this, Drake has decided to refrain from trying to prove himself against one.

Read more...