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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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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
Walking
Told
Wasn
Secret
Around
Grind
Really
Rapper
Never
Check
Like
Anybody

More quotes by 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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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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My parents were divorced by the time I was even conscious - like I don't remember them ever being together.
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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.
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I've got two Rolexes that I'm very proud of - a gold Presidential that was a gift and a white gold one I gifted myself. I'm trying to step my game up and get a few more of those.
J. Cole
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When you're a rapper, just a rapper, you have to kind of settle for whatever comes your way - if a beat is hot, you wanna rap on it, period.
J. Cole
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In my mind, New York was the place where they had the underground rap shows and I could get in on some ciphers and just rap. This whole fantasy world I had created in my head about New York just from listening to the music my whole life, like, I'ma go up there and do that. But when I came up here, there was none of that, that scene was dead.
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 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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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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One day, I'll be listening to a bunch of Ray Charles, the next day it's nothing but Red Hot Chili Peppers. The next day it might be Tupac all day.
J. Cole
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Anything's possible, you gotta dream like you never seen obstacles.
J. Cole
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I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something's not good enough, and I won't stop until I feel like I've made it. I'm never satisfied.
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'm not a conscious rapper, all those things we talk about, the struggle, the pain, the outlook to the future, keep your head up. I try to put all those positive things into a regular human character, which is myself.
J. Cole
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Promise to my momma I'ma make it to the Top.. So I'ma keep climbing til my heartbeat drop
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.
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Sometimes I try a Mai Tai. It's so fruity. It's a little embarrassing, but I like it.
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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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