Quote

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.

J. Cole

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J. Cole
Age: 39
Born: 1985
Born: January 28
Film Director
Film Producer
Music Producer
Rapper
Recording Artist
Singer
Songwriter
Frankfurt/Main
Kill Edward
Jermaine Lamarr Cole
Hollwywood Cole
Fans
Listeners
Attention
Lyrics
Write
Mainstream
Care
Rap
Without
Selling
Writing
Average
Trying
Conscious
Pay
Listener

More quotes by J. Cole

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A lot of my music is just self-observation. Like telling you, Oh man. What did I just do? How much did I just pay for this chain? Why did I do that? Wait a minute. Let me talk about that. Or like, the temptation. Let me talk about that. Let me observe myself.
J. Cole
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I never really told anybody that I'm a rapper. I wasn't walking around being like, Yo, check out my mixtape! It was more of a secret grind.
J. Cole
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I worked in ad sales. I would call up local businesses and try to get them to buy ads in the paper. The whole time, I felt like I was just scamming people.
J. Cole
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Anything's possible, you gotta dream like you never seen obstacles.
J. Cole
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I don't live for the accolades. I'm more so about the music. Making it, and putting it out. Those are the two best feelings.
J. Cole
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Anything I do, I want to do it well.
J. Cole
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I think if I did something in the pop world right now, it would be for Rihanna. I'd love to do something production wise for her.
J. Cole
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When composing music, I just start spilling things out and then wait until they take form, you know what I mean, until I see like a common thread or something.
J. Cole
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One thing you should know about me is I never play to lose, Always aim high and rarely obey the rules.
J. Cole
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Rhyme patterns are nothing without meanings to the words. A lot of rappers can do those flows, but the raps aren't really about anything - which is cool sometimes, but to have the flow and the message is one of my favorite things.
J. Cole
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Barack Obama would not be President if he were dark skin. You know what I mean? That's just the truth. I might not be as successful as I am now if I was dark skin.
J. Cole
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I yearn for that livin' large, but mama I ain't done yet/Sit back and watch your son rise, kick back and know your son set
J. Cole
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I'm the type of person where, A., I look at things as challenges, I like challenges and, B., I truly believe that you determine your own destiny.
J. Cole
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So ahead of my time even when i rhyme about the future I be reminiscing
J. Cole
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I think all you can really do is use the tour to kinda fill up with experiences and thoughts, and then, when you get back to the studio, or in some type of creative environment, that's when you release everything that you've encountered on tour.
J. Cole
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The same ones you love will bring you pain.
J. Cole
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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.
J. Cole
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I now possess the tools as a producer and a songwriter to really just go out and make smashes all day long. I could make an album full of smash records that got pop appeal. But my heart is in hip-hop. My heart is in telling stories. And it's like therapy for me.
J. Cole
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I'm not gonna be bad at anything, and I want to actually be the best at anything I'm doing. So if I'm playing basketball, if I'm taking the SATs, like, there's a competitive spirit behind it. With production, it's the same thing.
J. Cole
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I was inspired by, when I was in college, seeing some incredible speakers come to my school: Michael Eric Dyson, Spike Lee, Nikki Giovanni, and other poets and writers. I always loved that experience: going and sitting in an auditorium and listening to their opinions.
J. Cole