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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
Write
Mainstream
Care
Rap
Without
Selling
Writing
Average
Trying
Conscious
Pay
Listener
Fans
Listeners
Attention
Lyrics

More quotes by J. Cole

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When you're headlining, people are paying to come see you specifically. It's a different kind of pressure, because you've got to deliver. You've got to give these people what they paid for. It's a different mind state, a different type of mentality, but it's honestly a pretty good problem to have, you know?
J. Cole
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I wish I studied more religions, I wish I read the Bible, the Quran. I think as I get older, I will start to really dive into religions, just because I feel like there's truths in all of those books. Clearly. I'm saying there's truths in all of them.
J. Cole
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The same ones you love will bring you pain.
J. Cole
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I don't wanna forget the fact that I wanna be one of the best rappers. I feel like some of the best rappers ever - 2Pac, namely, one of them - could take sub-par beats or average beats and turn them into incredible songs.
J. Cole
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No rapper in the world from Jay-Z to Tupac to Biggie has 100 percent love on everything they do.
J. Cole
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You can't reverse fame. You can lose all the money, but you'll never lose people knowing you.
J. Cole
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The thing about being an artist today is you get to develop right in front of people's eyes before you even put out an album.
J. Cole
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I'm half-black, half-white, so I basically put it like this: I can fit in anywhere. That's why I write so many stories from so many different perspectives, because I've seen so many.
J. Cole
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I'm the same kid who used to hop the trains with headphones and just go to downtown Manhattan, walk around and listen to music or walk through the city. The fame restricts that. It's a small complaint in comparison to the benefits I get from it, but the restrictive part is what I don't like - and the fact that it's not reversible.
J. Cole
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My fans love me for me, my beats, my rhymes.
J. Cole
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I didn't even have to be a big fan of someone to enjoy hearing them speak. I remember when Nikki Giovanni came - I wasn't really familiar with her. But she said some things I'll never forget. Like, okay, for example, she was talking about the amount of beef that's in the world. There are so many McDonald's, Burger Kings, Wendy's.
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 here to spread a message of hope. Follow your heart. Don't follow what you've been told you're supposed to do.
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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It's no coincidence that all the greatest rappers - whoever you put in your top five - I guarantee you they a great storyteller.
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 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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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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My parents were divorced by the time I was even conscious - like I don't remember them ever being together.
J. Cole
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Marriage is just a relationship to me. In my experience, when you've been in a relationship for as long as I've been in one, there's no real difference. It's just a piece of paper that validates what was already real.
J. Cole