All J. Cole ever really wanted to do was rap.
Well, scratch that. All J. Cole ever really wanted to do was rap and be heard. And while rapping came pretty effortlessly to Cole, being heard was much more difficult.
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His dream of being heard starting out in 2003 when a fresh-out-of-high-school J. Cole — real name, Jermaine Lamarr Cole — moved from North Carolina to New York City to attend St. John’s University.
While he was telling people he went to New York to attend college, the truth was that he was in the city to land himself a deal. During his tenure in school, Cole would record in his dorm room and trek around the city, trying to get any music connections he could. He even staked out Bassline Studios, the infamous recording studio where Jay-Z used to lay tracks at, hoping to meet the God MC himself.
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In 2007, J. Cole graduated magna cum laude from St. John’s University with a degree in communications. This was a pivotal moment for the young MC. He could use his degree and try to get a nine-to-five gig, or he could give this rap thing one really good push.
Which route you think he chose?
Later that year, Cole hooked up with DJ On Point and dropped his first official mixtape, which was appropriately titled, The Warm Up. The tape, which was a mixture of original songs, produced by Cole himself, and freestyles over other rapper’s beats, became sort of a cult classic.
Then Cole recorded “Lights Please.”
The earnest, piano-driven song was, to that point, one of the best songs Cole had ever done, and the record that held the attention of one Jay-Z.
J. Cole was finally being heard.
After taking a meeting with Cole, Jay signed the kid to his brand new Roc Nation label, making him the first rapper signed to Hov’s imprint.
No pressure.
With some considerable buzz now swarming Cole, the rapper dropped the follow-up to The Warm Up, titled The Come Up.
Cole’s sophomore mixtape was the tape that let people know that not only he had some spit to him, but his production game was on point, also; Cole produced a majority of the songs on The Come Up.
With all of this hype now surrounding Jermaine, the young rapper didn’t stay idle. Nope. In fact, he went harder, killing every guest appearance he was featured on. Even though he was considered a rookie in the game, Cole held his own with lyrical tyrants like Kanye West, Wale, Talib Kweli, and, of course, The Big Homie himself, Jay-Z.
All those years of grinding, rhyming and trying to be heard accumulated with Cole World: The Sideline Story, J. Cole’s debut album.
The LP was released on September 27, 2011. Base off the strength of the album’s Paula Abdul-sampling first single, “Work Out,” and the Trey Songz–assisted second single, “Can’t Get Enough,” Cole World came in at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 218,000 copies.
Two months later, Cole World: The Sideline Story officially went gold.
J. Cole’s career can reach all new heights this weekend. Cole is nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist, a category that also features Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, The Band Perry and Skrillex.
It’s pretty stiff competition, but we like his chances as much as anyone’s.
And, besides, even if he doesn’t win at least he’ll still be rapping — for all to hear.
