Meet J Cole : The Other Light-Skinned Rapper: Honey Mag Exclusive Interview

If you haven't got the chance to hear any of North Carolina rapper, J Cole's tracks, let me strongly suggest that you immediately go hear some of his stuff. His lyrics, music is just dope. J Cole is the first signee to Roc Nation so keep your ear out, you will be hearing a lot from him soon. Honey Magazine did an exclusive interview with the rapper, check it out:


Honey Magazine: You were grinding for a minute, but a couple years back your name was the Therapist. Why the switch?
J Cole:Here’s the story. Back when I was like 13, we used to call three-way. It’d be like six niggas on the phone looking for rap names…

Hitting up that thesaurus pretty hard?
J Cole:Not even, niggas was straight flipping through a dictionary! Like “Can I be the fucking chiropractor,” (laughs). Nothing was sticking and I looked towards my mentors for help and one of them, suggested Therapist. I actually loved the name, but as I got older, it started to be corny to me. It felt like a wrestler.

Ha! On some alter-ego shit?
J Cole:Exactly. The name J. Cole, is still a rap character in it’s own, but it’s closer to myself than the Therapist could ever be. I decided about 3, 4 years ago to make that switch.

Seems like a good choice. You worked on The Warm Up for about the time some might take on their albums. Is that amount of effort comparable to starting an album?
J Cole:It’s like the difference between practice and a game. And I felt like I practiced hard as fuck. So now when I’m in the game, its a couple notches more serious and harder, but I’m more prepared because I didn’t practice like a slouch. I’m just early in the album stages so I don’t know entirely what it’s going to bring, but I know I’m ready.

It’s funny that you compare it to sports, because a lot of rappers put their “practices” on the web. But you started off taking a bit more of the traditional route. If you could, would you have gone back and tried pushing harder on the blogs?
J Cole:Nah, I think the way I did it was perfect. I’m not going to say that’s the way I had planned, but that’s the way I believed in. I saw it as you’re supposed to put your best foot forth at all times. So I stuck to my guns. I put out one mixtape before I got my deal. My second mixtape came after. You see what I’m saying? I got my deal based strictly off the music.

How do you think that benefits you?
J Cole:I’m like a mystery. If I was one of these rappers heavy on the blogs, but without a deal and had gotten signed with Jay-Z, it wouldn’t have caused the same effect. People would’ve just been like “Oh, that’s what’s up. He’s been grinding for a minute. Rather than, “Who’s that?”

True. Speaking of Hov, Wale was recently interviewed in VIBE saying he gets to talk to Jay more than anyone else. As Roc Nation’s first artist, what’s your relationship like with him?
J Cole:I don’t even speak to him close to that much. I’m all about…you earn shit. Even though I signed that deal, you ain’t going to catch me in every picture throwing up…

A Roc sign?
J Cole:Yeah and just eating off that brand. That time is going to come. They put in years worth of work to build that up and it would be phony for me to just come in because I got signed and now the next day I’m so Roc’d out. Nah. You have to earn the right to be Jay’s friend. He has to be impressed with you as a person. He’s not obligated to hang out with you now that you’re signed to his label. I mean a year from now who knows what shit will be like. So I speak to Jay when it’s necessary and when it’s appropriate.

Yeah, I guess it’s all about just being patient with the levels of hierarchy…
J Cole:Yeah, definitely. A deal means nothing. A deal is just saying I believe in you. Now show me what you got. But you know, we’re not friends, yet (laughs).

Got you (laughs). It’s noticeable that thus far you haven’t been into having any big names on your songs. Does that go back to earning your way again?
J Cole:It is. Actually, it’s not even that I need to earn it, well it kind of is. I just gotta establish my shit first. Not even on some earnest shit, I just want people to know that when it came down to it, I didn’t really need anyone but myself. Now of course you need a strong team, you need other like-minded musicians around you, but I don’t want to be one of those rappers who runs to X, Y, Z.

You don’t want to look like the kid with crutches.
J Cole:Exactly. And that’s the thing. I’m capable. If I can do it all on my own, why wouldn’t I?

It seems that one of The Warm Up’s themes is this whole “Back then they didn’t want me/ Now I’m hot they all on me.” Does that pertain to women too?
J Cole:Honestly, I never really felt like I was the kind of nigga who couldn’t get girls or something. Of course now it’s like some girls I didn’t even know are trying to get at me. There’s certain people hitting me up that wasn’t hitting me up before. A certain girl will poke me on Facebook (laughs). It’s not drastic, but maybe because I’m not using it to my advantage.

Would you rather be with the girl who had all your lyrics memorized or would you rather be with a girl who didn’t know shit about you?
J Cole:I’m definitely picking the girl who doesn’t know shit about me, but the problem is I don’t trust. Right now I’m nobody, but if years from now I’m hot and a girl told me she didn’t know me I would just think she’s trying to play me. But when I meet people, even beyond girls, I never bring up that I’m a rapper. I hate to say that.

Why you say that?
J Cole:It just brings out these certain judgments. End of the day though, I gotta make sure a girl ain’t fucking with me because of my status… not that I have a status yet, but you know (laughs).

Yeah, I know (laughs). That being said, someone who does seem to have that problem now is Drake. A lot of people compare you guys. What do you think are the similarities and differences?
J Cole:We’re similar in the fact that our subject matter is authentic. I think the things that he’s saying very much represent him. We’re different in the fact that right now in my career I’m less concerned with material shit. No disrespect to him, but I feel like my subject matter is a little bit more broad and deeper. But, another difference is, he knows how to make a hit record. I ain’t got no hit records yet. I haven’t proven that. He’s proven that on several different occasions.

Having faith that the hit records will come, when will you feel like you’ve reached success?
J Cole:Man, I’ve been pondering this recently. My measure of success is so much greater than numbers. The word is “long-term.” I can’t even measure it till say five years from now when I ask, “Did I drop classic albums? Did I remain consistent?” That’s why I can’t put a number on what I want my first week sales to be. It’s so fucking past that.

Interview Courtesy of Honey Magazine.

Who would you take J Cole or Drake?

-Mez