Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America ...

, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, '' The Come Up'', in early 2007. Intent on further pursuing a musical career, he went on to release two additional mixtapes, '' The Warm Up'' (2009) and '' Friday Night Lights'' (2010) both to critical acclaim, after signing to

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

's Roc Nation imprint in 2009. Cole released his debut studio album, '' Cole World: The Sideline Story'', in 2011. It debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200. His next album, '' Born Sinner'' (2013), also topped the ''Billboard'' 200. Moving into more

conscious Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

themes, '' 2014 Forest Hills Drive'' (2014) topped the ''Billboard'' 200 and earned Cole a Best Rap Album nomination at the

2015 Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive time. ...

. His

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

influenced fourth album, '' 4 Your Eyez Only'' (2016), debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. Cole's fifth album, '' KOD'' (2018), became his fifth number-one album on the ''Billboard'' 200 and featured a then-record six simultaneous top twenty hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, tying with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. His sixth studio album, '' The Off-Season'', which earned him his sixth number-one album, was released on May 14, 2021. Self-taught on piano, Cole also acts as a producer alongside his rap career, producing

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

for artists such as

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, as well as handling the majority of the production in his own projects. He has also developed other ventures, including Dreamville Records, as well as a non-profit organization called the Dreamville Foundation. Dreamville's compilation album ''

Revenge of the Dreamers III ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' is the third compilation album by American record label Dreamville, released on July 5, 2019, by Dreamville and Interscope Records. ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' includes contributions from Dreamville artists, J ...

'' (2019) debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2020 Grammy Awards. In January 2015, Cole decided to house single mothers rent-free at his childhood home in

. Cole has won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Rap Song, a ''Billboard'' Music Award for Top Rap Album, three Soul Train Music Awards, and 8 BET Hip Hop Awards. All five of his albums have been certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA), as well as ''

''.

Early life

Jermaine Lamarr Cole was born on January 28, 1985, at an American

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. His father is an African American veteran, who served in the U.S. Army, and his mother, Kay, is a European American who was a postal worker for the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

. Cole's father later abandoned the family during his youth. At the age of eight months his mother moved with him and his older brother Zach to the United States, to Fayetteville,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

. Cole grew up in a multi-ethnic environment, and when asked about how closely his ethnicity impacts him, Cole commented, "I can identify with white people, because I know my mother, her side of the family, who I love. But at the end of the day,

've A contraction is a shortened version of the spoken and written forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters and sounds. In linguistic analysis, contractions should not be confused with crasis, abbreviations ...

never felt white. I can identify

ith white people The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

but never have I felt like I'm one of them. I identify more with what I look like, because that's how I got treated utnot necessarily in a negative way". During his youth, Cole expressed an affinity for basketball and music, and served as a first-chair violinist for the Terry Sanford Orchestra until 2003. Cole began rapping at the age of twelve, and saw it as an ideal profession in 2000, when his mother purchased an ASR-X musical sampler as a Christmas gift. During this period, Cole heightened emphasis on improving his production skills, later beginning initial production under the pseudonym Therapist. Cole later collaborated with local group Bomm Sheltuh, rapping and producing as a member of the group. Cole can be seen in the crowd of the 2006 documentary '' Dave Chappelle's Block Party''. Upon graduating high school with a 4.2 GPA, Cole decided that his chances of securing a recording contract would be better in New York City. He moved there and accepted a scholarship to St. John's University. Initially majoring in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

, Cole later switched to

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...

and

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

after witnessing the life of a lonely computer science professor. At the college, Cole was the president of Haraya, a

pan-African Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

student coalition. He graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' in 2007, with a 3.8 GPA. Despite graduating, Cole would officially receive his degree during a homecoming concert in 2015, revealing that he had owed money for a library book, causing the university to hold back from granting him his degree. Cole later worked in various part-time jobs in Fayetteville, including a working ad salesman for a newspaper, a bill collector, a file clerk, and a kangaroo

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

at a skate rink.

Musical career

1999–2008: Early work and initial mixtapes

After becoming musically inspired by Canibus,

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

, Tupac and

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

, Cole and his cousin worked on developing their basic understanding of rhyming and

wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phon ...

. As well as this, they began to learn how to interpolate storytelling within their lyrics. By 14, Cole had various notebooks filled with song ideas, however, was unable to produce beats further than sampling. Cole's mother later purchased him the

Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patte ...

drum machine in order to further Cole's understanding of production. Over the next three years, he began posting songs on various internet forums under the moniker ''Blaza'', but later switched to the name ''Therapist''. Cole later expanded his production to create an entire CD's worth of instrumentals, and traveled to Roc the Mic Studio, hoping to play it for

Jay Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

while he was in recording sessions for '' American Gangster''. Cole waited for over three hours, before being dismissed by Jay Z. Cole later used the CD as the backdrop for his debut mixtape, '' The Come Up''.

2009–2010: Mixtapes and Roc Nation signing

J. Cole released his second mixtape, '' The Warm Up'', on June 15, 2009 to positive reviews. Cole appeared on Jay Z's album '' The Blueprint 3'' (2009), on the track "A Star Is Born." He is featured on both Wale's debut album, '' Attention Deficit'' (2009) and mixtape '' Back to the Feature'' (2009), respectively. In January 2010, Cole, along with label mate Jay Electronica and

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

appeared on

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

and

Hi-Tek Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek (born May 5, 1976), is an American rapper and record producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, whom H ...

's single, "

Just Begun "Just Begun" is a song by American hip hop duo Reflection Eternal, composed of New York rapper Talib Kweli and Ohio producer Hi-Tek. The song was released on February 2, 2010, as the second single from their second studio album ''Revolutions per ...

" for the follow-up of

Reflection Eternal Reflection Eternal is an American hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and producer Hi-Tek. They released their first album, ''Train of Thought'', in 2000. They have since released a mixtape, ''The RE: Union'', in late December 2009, and t ...

's album ''

Train of Thought The train of thought or track of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to ...

'' (2000), titled ''

Revolutions Per Minute Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensio ...

'' (2010). Cole also appeared on B.o.B's mixtape ''May 25'' (2010), on the song "Gladiators", produced by

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

In early 2010, Cole was chosen as one of ''

Beyond Race ''Beyond Race Magazine (BRM)'' is a quarterly magazine based in New York City primarily centered on independent and emerging artists, covering music, film, and other arts, such as literature, graffiti, tattooing, and visual arts. The publication ...

'' magazine's "50 Great Breakthrough Artists," he ranked 49, resulting in the cover story of the publication's #11 issue, as well as a Q&A for the magazine's site. He was also featured in XXL Magazine's 2010 version of the Top Ten Freshmen, a yearly publication focusing on new rappers. Cole began a college tour from March 19, 2010 to April 30, 2010 concluding in New Brunswick, NJ at Rutgers University's annual Rutgersfest. The tour also featured a stop at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

for a show with fellow rapper,

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...

. On March 31, he performed a new song titled "

Who Dat Who Dat (AAVE African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particu ...

" and released the song as a single on April 30, 2010. Cole was also featured on Young Chris' song "Still The Hottest" as well as Miguel's debut single " All I Want Is You." Additionally, Cole was featured on a track titled "We On", a song that failed to make the final track list for DJ Khaled's ''

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

'' LP. To celebrate the anniversary of the release of ''The Warm Up'' mixtape, J. Cole released a freestyle entitled "The Last Stretch" on June 15, 2010. On June 21 of that year, J. Cole premiered the music video to his first single "Who Dat" on the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

program ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...

''. In August 2010, Cole was awarded the UMA Male Artist of the Year thanks to his heralded ''The Warm Up'' mixtape and a high-profile deal with Jay Z's label Roc Nation at the 2010 Underground Music Awards. In a July 2010 interview, J. Cole revealed three songs that would appear on his debut album: "Dreams", "Won't Be Long", and "Never Told", which was produced by

No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), professionally known as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American hip hop and R&B producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and former rapper, having relea ...

On October 30, 2010, a demo titled "I'm Coming Home" was leaked onto the internet. Cole recorded the song as a reference track for Diddy, which later became " Coming Home" off '' Last Train to Paris'' (2010). On November 12, 2010, J. Cole released his third official mixtape titled '' Friday Night Lights''. The tape included features from

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

, Wale, and

Omen An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

with most of the production being handled by Cole himself.

2011–2012: ''Cole World: The Sideline Story''

Cole served as a supporting act for Drake on the Light Dreams and Nightmares UK Tour, from January 5–21, 2011. In April 2011, " HiiiPoWeR", a song Cole produced for Kendrick Lamar's ''

Section.80 ''Section.80'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on July 2, 2011, by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). In the years leading up to its release, Lamar previously produced various mixtapes under the moniker K.D ...

'' (2011) was released. The single was the first of many collaborations to come from the two. On May 22, 2011, Cole released a song entitled "Return of Simba," the third in the "Simba" series of songs, following "Simba" and "Grown Simba."J. Cole – Return of Simba
Mostly Junkfood Cole purposely avoided releasing his debut album's title for fear of inconsistency, only announcing that

would be featured on his debut album. Cole then released his follow-up single to "Who Dat", the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, " Work Out" on June 15, 2011, in honor of the second anniversary of his highly acclaimed mixtape ''The Warm Up''. The song, produced by Cole himself, samples "

The New Workout Plan "The New Workout Plan" is a song from Kanye West's debut album, ''The College Dropout''. Released in late 2004, the single peaked at #59 on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The music video was released in 2004, with cameos from John Legend, ...

" by Kanye West and

interpolates In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has ...

Straight Up Straight up is a bartending term referring to a chilled drink served in a stemmed glass without ice. Straight Up may also refer to: * ''Straight Up'' (book), by author, blogger, physicist and climate expert Joseph J. Romm * ''Straight Up'' (Ha ...

" by

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

. The song later became a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, topping several music charts. On July 31, Cole took to Twitter to announce ''Any Given Sunday'', reminiscent of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Fridays, a weekly free music giveaway. Cole wrote "Every Sunday til the album drops I'll be back with something. Maybe just 1 song, maybe a video, depending on how I'm feeling." For the 3rd installment of the series, Cole took to Ustream to update fans about the album and play a select few tracks that didn't make the final track list. On August 15, the music video for "Work Out" premiered on YouTube, Vevo, and 106 & Park. On August 22, Cole released his debut album's cover art, designed by Alex Haldi for Bestest Asbestos, whom Cole recorded a song for, titled "Killers", for Haldi's mixtape ''The Glorification of Gangster''. For the fourth installment on August 29, he released his debut album's track list, once again through Twitter. On August 30, after an unfinished version had previously leaked, " Can't Get Enough" featuring R&B singer

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, ''I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

was released as the album's second single. While in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

for his last performance as the official opening act for Rihanna's Loud Tour, Cole shot the music video for "Can't Get Enough" with Songz and Rihanna, who provided a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

. The video, directed by Clifton Bell, was released on September 14, 2011. In addition, early on September 25, two days before his album's release, Cole released the music video for the iTunes bonus track "Daddy's Little Girl". '' Cole World: The Sideline Story'' was released September 27, 2011 debuting at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with 218,000 copies in its first-week of sales. , the album was certified gold by the

(RIAA) for shipments and sales of 500,000 copies. On February 7, 2012, the third and final single from Cole's debut album was released. The song, titled " Nobody's Perfect", features renowned female rapper

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

, marking her return to music. , the album had sold 855,000 copies in the United States. On October 24, 2011, during an interview with Hot 106's ''Rise & Grind'' morning show, Cole revealed he had begun working on his second studio album, with hopes of releasing it in June 2012. He also stated that the album would consist of songs that failed to make his debut, saying "I don't know how many, but I got songs that didn't make the last album that are automatically going to make this one," he said, revealing the release date: "June. End of June, maybe June." From November 6 to 8, Cole served as the supporting act for

Tinie Tempah Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is a British rapper. He has been signed to Parlophone Records since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment compa ...

, appearing at

Bournemouth International Centre The Bournemouth International Centre (commonly known as the BIC ) in Bournemouth, Dorset, was opened in September 1984. It is one of the largest venues for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and events in southern England. Additionally, it ...

; Liverpool Echo Arena, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

; LG Arena,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

; SECC Arena,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, Scotland; and

MEN Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has the ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

2012–2013: ''Born Sinner'' and ''Truly Yours'' series

Cole was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2012

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

. Cole played for the Eastern Team in the 2012

NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity Game The NBA All-Star Celebrity Game is an annual exhibition basketball game held by the National Basketball Association that takes place during the NBA All-Star Weekend and features retired NBA players, WNBA players, actors, musicians and athletes ...

. On February 24, 2012, Cole reached two million followers on Twitter, and celebrated by releasing the song "Grew Up Fast." On March 1, 2012, Cole returned to his home town,

. To celebrate his return, he released the song "Visionz of Home", and launched an event titled "Dreamville Weekend" to inspire the youth of his hometown to achieve great things. Cole performed for the first time in Africa during the

Big Brother Africa 7 ''Big Brother Africa 7'' (also known as ''Big Brother Africa: StarGame!'') was the seventh season of the ''Big Brother Africa'' reality television series produced by Endemol for M-Net. It began on 6 May 2012, and ran for 91 days ending on 5 August ...

opening ceremony on May 6, 2012, alongside Camp Mulla, P-Square,

Naeto C Naetochukwu Chikwe, stage name Naeto C, is a Nigerian rapper, Afrobeat artist and record producer. Early life He was born in Houston, Texas and is of Nigerian origin. The Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha appointed Naeto C, as his Spe ...

, Flavour N'abania,

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widel ...

, and Aemo E'Face. On May 14, Cole announced that he was working on a collaborative album with

, saying in an interview with Bootleg Kev that "I just started working with Kendrick the other day. We got it in, finally, again. We got maybe four or five ongstogether", also saying that the project would be more focused on and eventually released once '' Born Sinner'' had been released. On July 26, he returned to Twitter after a 100-day absence and went on to reveal and release his new song, "The Cure", in which he hinted at a new album. On October 20, he announced at a live show that his second album was complete and that he was waiting until after Lamar released ''

good kid, m.A.A.d city ''Good Kid, M.A.A.D City'' (stylized as ''good kid, m.A.A.d city'') is the second studio album by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on October 22, 2012, through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records ...

'' to reveal it. WDMCTourCole

On November 5, Cole revealed the title of his second album, '' Born Sinner'', as well as a scheduled release date of January 28, 2013, via Ustream. On November 13, 2012, Cole released a promotional single for the album, titled "Miss America." Cole stated that he hoped "Miss America" would shift music in a different direction, adding that he knew it wouldn't be a big radio hit. He elaborated further, saying, "To me, 'Miss America' shifts things a little bit, it changes the conversation, it takes it in a more aggressive direction, more raw, more social commentary... Any type of commentary is good compared to what a normal single is these days. That's my aim, is to shift culture slightly, change the conversation. Nobody expects that for your first single." On December 31, 2012, Cole revealed that '' Born Sinner'' would not be released on January 28, 2013, as previously expected. Cole said that he "needed a little more time than that to get things done." In promotion of ''Born Sinner'', Cole released an EP titled '' Truly Yours'' on February 12, 2013, the project consisted of five tracks Cole knew would not appear on ''Born Sinner''. On February 14, 2013, he released the artwork for the first single via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. " Power Trip" was released on February 14, 2013, marking Cole's second collaboration with R&B recording artist Miguel. Cole had announced a release date of June 25, 2013 for ''Born Sinner''. However, when it was announced that Kanye West's '' Yeezus'' would be released just one week earlier on June 18, Cole moved the release date of ''Born Sinner'' up a week in order to compete with West. He later commented, "This is art, and I can't compete against the Kanye West celebrity and the status that he's earned just from being a genius... But I can put my name in the hat and tell you that I think my album is great and you be the judge and you decide." Cole released the second installment in the ''Truly Yours'' series on April 30, 2013, the EP featured guest appearances from Bas, Young Jeezy and 2 Chainz. '' Born Sinner'' sold 297,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, debuting at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, finishing approximately 30,000 copies short of Kanye West's ''Yeezus''. He released three more singles in support of the album, " Crooked Smile" featuring TLC, " Forbidden Fruit" featuring Kendrick Lamar, and " She Knows". , the album had sold 796,000 copies in the United States.

2014–2016: ''2014 Forest Hills Drive''

On August 15, 2014, Cole released "Be Free" in response to the

shooting of Michael Brown On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Brown was accompanied by his 22-year-old male friend Dorian Johnson, who later stated that Brow ...

in Ferguson, Missouri. Three days later, he visited the city in order to meet with protesters and activists who were gathered at the site of his shooting, discussing the civil unrest that was taking place within the city. He performed the track with an additional verse at the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'' on December 10. On November 16, Cole released a video announcing that his third studio album, '' 2014 Forest Hills Drive'', would be released on December 9. The video featured footage regarding the album's composition, as well as revealed that the album's name was derived from the address of Cole's childhood home. He announced that the album would include no lead singles and have little promotion, but was supported by four promotional singles; " Apparently", "

Wet Dreamz "Wet Dreamz" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, released on April 14, 2015 as the second single from his third studio album, ''2014 Forest Hills Drive''. The song samples "Mariya" by Family Circle and "Impeach the President" by The Honey Dripp ...

", "

No Role Modelz "No Role Modelz" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, taken from his third studio album, ''2014 Forest Hills Drive''. The song samples "Don't Save Her" by Project Pat, and was produced by Phonix Beats and J. Cole. During the week of December 22, ...

", and " Love Yourz". The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 upon release, selling 353,000 copies in its first week. Cole announced the ''"Forest Hills Drive Tour"'' on February 13, 2015. The tour served as the backdrop for his first live album, '' Forest Hills Drive: Live''. The album recorded during the Fayetteville shows of the tour, and was released on Cole's 31st birthday. On March 31, ''2014 Forest Hills Drive'' was certified platinum. , the album had sold 1.24 million copies in the United States. ''2014 Forest Hills Drive'' won Top Rap Album at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards and Album of the Year at the

2015 BET Hip Hop Awards The 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards were held on October 9, 2015 and will air on October 13, 2015 at Atlanta Civic Center. The nominations were announced on September 15, 2015. Snoop Dogg will be the event's host again. Canadian rapper Drake leads the no ...

. The album was nominated at the

58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...

for Best Rap Album. The single "Apparently'" was also nominated for Best Rap Performance. On December 15, 2015, Cole announced a documentary series titled '' J. Cole: Road to Homecoming'', ahead of his HBO special '' Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming''. The series included five episodes as well as featuring guest appearances from

, Wale,

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to th ...

, Pusha T,

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

, and

. All episodes were released weekly and were available for free on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

until January 9. The concert film '' Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming'' aired on January 9, 2016, which was filmed during the final show of his Forest Hills Drive Tour at the Crown Coliseum in

. On January 28, 2016, Cole released '' Forest Hills Drive: Live'' as well as the music video for " Love Yourz", from concert film.

2016–2017: ''4 Your Eyez Only''

On July 29, 2016,

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

released his ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''

Major Key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in classical, Western art, and Western pop music. The group features a '' tonic note'' and its corresponding '' chords'', ...

''. Cole is featured on the track "Jermaine's Interlude". "Said all I could say, now I play with thoughts of retirement" is a direct quote from the track that caused some of Cole's fans to worry about him and his music career. In an interview with

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...

, Doctur Dot of the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

duo EarthGang explained that the song was originally a nine-minute posse cut, he said, "We were just trying to get Bas to fuck with the song, but Cole was like, 'I can't resist this beat,' so he hit the weed for the first time in a long time." "He overthinks on weed but we were in the garage smoking a blunt, the beat was running in the background. We stacked the hook up, we all had verses on it, it was a posse record and was like, nine verses long." On November 4, 2016, Cole performed at

and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

Rally in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, along with

and

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape ''10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

. On November 8, 2016, Spillage Village released the official version of "Jermaine's Interlude", called "Can't Call It". The song features Cole, EarthGang, Bas and JID. Cole2017 2

On December 1, 2016, the artwork and a track list for Cole's fourth album, titled '' 4 Your Eyez Only'', were shown on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

available for pre-order, with a release date for December 9, 2016. On December 2, 2016, Cole released a 40-minute documentary titled '' Eyez'', on Tidal. It features behind-the-scenes footage of Cole and collaborators working on the album, including two

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

s for the tracks " Everybody Dies" and " False Prophets"; neither song was included on the album. On December 5, "False Prophets" and "Everybody Dies" were released as singles to

iTunes store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

and other

streaming services An over-the-top media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of ...

. ''4 Your Eyez Only'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 492,000 album-equivalent units, of which 363,000 were pure album sales, becoming Cole's fourth number one album. The track "

Deja Vu Deja or Dejah may refer to: * Deja News, an archive of messages posted to Usenet discussion groups and its successor ''deja.com'' * Andreas Deja (born 1957), German animator * Dejah Mulipola (born 1998), American softball player * Dejah Thoris, a ...

" entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 7 without being released as a single, becoming J. Cole's highest charting song. All 10 songs from ''4 Your Eyez Only'' debuted in the top 40 of the Hot 100, after only having four top 40 hits as a solo artist. "False Prophets" and "Everybody Dies" both charted also. Cole achieved twelve simultaneous Hot 100 entries in a single week. "Deja Vu" was released as the album's first single on January 10, 2017. On January 12, 2017, ''4 Your Eyez Only'' was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

by the

(RIAA). On April 7, 2017 the album was certified

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On January 16, 2017, Cole surprisingly released a track titled, " High for Hours" via his

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

. The song was produced by

Elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. ...

and Cam O'Bi. The song was released on the

as a single on January 18. Cole announced the

4 Your Eyez Only World Tour 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist J. Cole, to support his fourth studio album ''4 Your Eyez Only'' (2016). Dreamville artists J.I.D, Ari Lennox and Lute served as opening acts on the first leg of the t ...

on February 21, 2017, the tour included 62 dates across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. On March 24, 2017 HBO announced a documentary titled, '' J. Cole: 4 Your Eyez Only'', the film aired April 15, 2017. The film was directed by Cole and Scott Lazer. It is now available on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

2018: ''KOD''

On April 16, 2018, J. Cole announced a surprise free event for fans at the Gramercy Theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The event turned out to be a listening session for his forthcoming album, titled '' KOD'', which was released on April 20, 2018. Cole held a second listening session in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

the next day. The album's cover and tracklist show twelve tracks and two features, both by Cole's alter ego, Kill Edward. Cole had mentioned that ''KOD'' has 3 meanings, ''Kids on Drugs'', ''King Overdosed'', and ''Kill Our Demons''. The cover art for ''KOD'' was done by a

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

artist named Kamau Haroon who goes by the name Sixmau. The album touches on many topics including

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

, depression, and greed. In the United States, on the day of its release, ''KOD'' broke the previous record for '' Views'' by

in 2016 by receiving 64.5 million streams on

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Appl ...

. It accumulated 36.7 million streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

in its first 24 hours as well. Additionally, the titled track also surpassed

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

's " Look What You Made Me Do" by 0.4 million streams on its first day. The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, earning 397,000 album-equivalent units, including 174,000 in pure sales, making it Cole's fifth number one album. J. Cole also became the first act to simultaneously debut three songs in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with " ATM" (at 6), " Kevin's Heart" (8), and " KOD" (10). The remainder of the album also debuted in the Hot 100, totaling to twelve songs on the chart. " KOD" was released as the album's first single, on May 8, 2018. Cole released music videos for the songs "ATM" and "Kevin's Heart", both of which were directed by Cole and Scott Lazer. " ATM" impacted US

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

radio on July 31, 2018, as the album's second single. Songs from the album were featured in the official

2018 NBA Playoffs The 2018 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2017–18 season. The playoffs began on April 14, 2018 and ended on June 8 at the conclusion of the 2018 NBA Finals. Overview * The Houston Rockets ...

and the NBA Finals promotion for

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. On April 27, 2018 it was announced that Cole was working on another project titled ''The Fall Off'', Cole said that he planned to release ''The Fall Off'' before he recorded ''KOD''. Cole also confirmed that he is working on a Kill Edward album. On May 14, 2018, ''KOD'' was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

by the

(RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 album-equivalent units in the US. The album has since been certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with one million album-equivalent units in the United States. Cole announced the

KOD Tour The KOD Tour was the eighth headlining concert tour by American recording artist J. Cole, in support of his fifth studio album, '' KOD'' (2018). The tour began on August 9, 2018 in Miami at the American Airlines Arena and concluded on October 10, ...

on May 8, 2018,

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...

, Jaden Smith, EarthGang and Kill Edward served as the supporting acts. The tour will include 34 North American dates, starting in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, on August 9 and concluding in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, on October 10, 2018. Cole performed "Intro" and "Friends" at the 2018 BET Awards on June 24, 2018. Singer Daniel Caesar performed part of "Intro" and the chorus to "Friends", rapper Wale was also part of the set. On August 7, 2018, Cole released a single titled, "

Album of the Year (Freestyle) "Album of the Year (Freestyle)" is a song by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on August 7, 2018 through Dreamville Records, Roc Nation, and Interscope Records. Background On August 7, 2018, Cole released "Album of the Year (Freestyle)" o ...

". The single was accompanied by a music video, which premiered on WorldStarHipHop. Cole also announced a new project titled, ''

The Off Season ''The Off Season'' is a 2004 independent horror film directed by James Felix McKenney and produced by Larry Fessenden's Glass Eye Pix. It was filmed in Old Orchard Beach, Maine and distributed through Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Plot In t ...

'', which he plans to release ahead of his next studio album, ''The Fall Off''. In the description to the video, it reads: "''The Off Season'' coming soon... All roads lead to ''The Fall Off'' - Cole". In an interview for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' in September 2018, Cole said he plans to take off 2019 from touring to finish work on ''

'', ''The Fall Off'', and the Kill Edward project.

2019: ''Revenge of the Dreamers III''

On January 6, 2019, Cole took to

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to announce Dreamville's compilation album ''

'' by uploading a gold poster-like invitation. Recording sessions took place in

beginning January 6 through January 16, 2019. Throughout the 10-days of recording, invitations were shared by the entire Dreamville roster, among other artists and producers outside of Dreamville. A total of 343 artists and producers were invited to the sessions including, Big K.R.I.T., Mike Will Made It,

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

, Tay Keith, T.I,

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Wale, among others. On January 23, 2019, Cole released his first lead single since 2013 titled, " Middle Child (J. Cole song), Middle Child". With only one day of tracking, "Middle Child" debuted at number 26 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The following week, the song peaked at number 4, making it Cole's highest charting song. Cole performed at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game for its halftime show on February 17, 2019 in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. He performed "Middle Child", " A Lot", " ATM", " Love Yourz" and "

". On May 23, 2019, Cole was featured alongside American rapper and singer Travis Scott on American rapper

's single " The London", which would become the lead single from Thug's debut studio album, ''

So Much Fun ''So Much Fun'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Young Thug. It was released on August 16, 2019, by YSL Records, 300 Entertainment and Atlantic Records. The album features guest appearances from Future, Machine Gun Kelly, Gunna, Lil ...

''. On June 12, 2019, the first of two sets of dual singles from ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' were released: "

Down Bad "Down Bad" is a song by American record label Dreamville featuring performances by American rappers J. Cole, JID, Bas, Johnny Venus of EarthGang, and Young Nudy, released on June 12, 2019 alongside " Got Me" as the dual second single from t ...

" featuring Cole, JID, Bas, EarthGang, and Young Nudy, and " Got Me" featuring Ari Lennox,

, Ty Dolla Sign, and

Dreezy Seandrea Sledge (born March 28, 1994), better known by her stage name Dreezy, is an American rapper and singer. She signed with Interscope Records in 2014 where she released the studio albums '' No Hard Feelings'' (2016) and '' Big Dreez'' (201 ...

. On July 1, 2019, the second set of dual singles from the album were released: "LamboTruck" featuring Cozz,

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, lang ...

, and Childish Major and "Costa Rica" featuring Bas, JID, Guapdad 4000, Reese Laflare,

Jace Jace or Jase is a masculine given name, often a shortened version of Jason, and more rarely a surname. People * Jace (artist), French graffiti artist Given name *Jace Alexander (born 1964), American television director and actor *Jace Amaro (born ...

, Mez,

Smokepurpp Omar Jeffery Pineiro (born May 15, 1997), known professionally as Smokepurpp, is an American rapper. Originally a record producer, Pineiro later found success on the audio distribution platform SoundCloud in 2017 from his surge in popularity due ...

, Buddy, and Ski Mask the Slump God. Dreamville announced the album's release date on the same day and was selling limited merchandise on July 1, related to the album. On July 2, 2019, '' Dreamville Presents: REVENGE'' was released on the label's official

account, a film documenting the album's recording sessions in

. ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with 115,000 album-equivalent units, of which 24,000 were pure album sales, earning Cole his sixth consecutive number-one album in the country. The album was certified

by the

(RIAA). The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

, while "

Middle Child "Middle Child" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American rapper J. Cole. The song was released on January 23, 2019, through Dreamville Records, Roc Nation and Interscope Records, as the first single from Dreamville's 2019 compilation album, ' ...

" and "

" were nominated for Best Rap Performance. Cole's collaboration with

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Born in London, he moved to Atlanta with his mother at age seven. He became known after releasing two m ...

" A Lot" received a

Grammy Award for Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

, making this his first Grammy Award win.

2020–present: ''The Off-Season'' and ''The Fall Off''

On June 16, 2020, J. Cole released his first song of 2020, "

Snow on tha Bluff ''Snow on tha Bluff'' is a 2012 American found footage-style drama film directed by Damon Russell. It stars Curtis Snow, a real-life Atlanta "robbery boy" and drug dealer, playing a fictionalized version of himself, as he gets into various dang ...

", a politically-charged track released soon after the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

that led to disagreements with and criticism from Noname and other rappers. On July 23, 2020, Cole released a promotional EP titled ''

Lewis Street ''Lewis Street'' is the third extended play from American rapper J. Cole. It was released on July 22, 2020, by Dreamville Records and Roc Nation. It contains the dual singles "The Climb Back" and " Lion King on Ice". The two singles were to serve ...

'' featuring two new songs, "

The Climb Back "The Climb Back" (stylized as "t h e . c l i m b . b a c k") is a song by American rapper J. Cole. It was released on July 22, 2020, together with another song, " Lion King on Ice", under the title '' Lewis Street''. "The Climb Back", which was ...

" and " Lion King on Ice". The former later appeared on '' The Off-Season''. On December 29, 2020, Cole took to

to post a photo where he documented a list titled, "The Fall Off Era". On the list crossed out, was features and ''

''. Also listed, but not crossed out was two projects, '' The Off-Season'' and ''It's a Boy'', which he announced would be released ahead of ''The Fall Off''. The caption of the post read: "I still got some goals I gotta check off for' I scram..." On May 4, 2021, J. Cole officially revealed the release date and album artwork of ''The Off-Season'', his sixth studio album. The album's lead single, " Interlude", was released on May 7. ''The Off-Season'' was released on May 14, 2021. The album was co-executively produced by T-Minus and featured guest appearances from Morray,

Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...

, Bas, and 6LACK. It received positive reviews from critics and topped the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 282,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, earning Cole his sixth consecutive number-one album in the country. Four songs from ''The Off-Season'' debuted in the top ten on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with " My Life" (at 2), " Amari" (at 5), " Pride Is the Devil" (at 7), and "

95 South 95 South are an American hip hop group from Jacksonville, Florida. They started as a Miami bass group of Artice "AB" Bartley, Carlos "Daddy Black" Spencer and Jay "Ski" McGowan. The group's name is a reference to Interstate 95, which passes thro ...

" (at 8). " Interlude" debuted at number eight the previous week giving the album five top ten singles. On September 21, 2021, J. Cole released a freestyle titled "Heaven's EP", remixing the beat of "Pipe Down" from

's '' Certified Lover Boy''. On March 31, 2022, the song later appeared on the Dreamville compilation '' D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape'', with Cole also appearing on the songs "Stick" and "Freedom of Speech".

Basketball career

Cole played basketball at

Terry Sanford High School Terry Sanford High School (formerly known as Fayetteville Senior High School) is a public high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is named after Terry Sanford, who was a North Carolina state senator, Governor of North Carolina, and Unite ...

. With an academic scholarship, he tried out as a walk-on at St. John's University and was one of 10 call-back players during his sophomore year. In 2012, Cole played for the Eastern Team during the

. In 2013, Cole told ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'', "Sports is where it started for me. It parallels my life. Rap is such a competitive thing. That's why I have to watch sports. I got to keep up. It's my life in just another form." On July 20, 2020, Cole released an article for '' The Players' Tribune'', writing about his goals after graduating college to eventually playing professional basketball saying "if I can blow up in the next three years, that means I'll only be 27. That still might give me enough time to train and pursue a professional basketball career. I'll work hard enough to go play overseas and then try to work my way to the NBA." On July 31, 2020, Cole released his debut signature shoe in collaboration with Puma called the PUMA RS-Dreamer. In August 2020, it was also reported by

Master P Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...

that Cole was training to tryout for the NBA. In September 2022, J. Cole was named as the cover athlete for ''

NBA 2K23 ''NBA 2K23'' is a basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, based on the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is the 24th installment in the NBA 2K franchise and is the sucessor to '' NBA 2K22''. The gam ...

'' on the ''Dreamer Edition'', and was featured in the game as well as a character in the game's "MyCareer" mode. Cole said in a press release, "NBA 2K has long been a place to discover new musical talent through their game and continues to be a gold standard for showcasing all things basketball culture. It's been an amazing journey to not only appear on a cover of this year's game, but to be part of the MyCareer storyline, soundtrack and bring the Dreamer brand into NBA 2K."

Patriots Basketball Club (2021)

On May 10, 2021, Cole signed a contract with the

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

-based Patriots Basketball Club in the Basketball Africa League. Cole was also featured on the cover of the American basketball magazine '' SLAM'', for their May 2021 issue. Cole made his professional debut on May 16 against the

Rivers Hoopers Rivers Hoopers is a Nigerian basketball team based in Port Harcourt, Rivers. The team plays in the Nigerian Premier League. Established in 2009 as Royal Hoopers, the team has played in the Premier League since its inception. Hoopers have won the n ...

, finishing with three points, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes. In three games with the team, he scored five points, had three assists and five rebounds in 45 minutes of gameplay. He was only under contract for a minimum of three games. He left the team after playing the three games.

Scarborough Shooting Stars (2022–present)

On May 19, 2022, Cole signed with the

Scarborough Shooting Stars The Scarborough Shooting Stars are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre ...

of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball V ...

. On June 8, 2022, in a social media interview released by the Shooting Stars, it was announced that Cole would take an indefinite leave from the team to fulfill his concert tour commitments. In 4 games with the Shooting Stars, Cole averaged 2.4 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists, while shooting 50% from 3-point range.

Career statistics

BAL

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, style="text-align:left;",

Patriots BBC Patriots Basketball Club, also known as simply Patriots, is a basketball club based in Kigali, Rwanda. Established in 2014, it plays its home games at Amahoro Indoor Stadium. The team is a four-time champion of the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL). ...

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Artistic influences

Cole has cited several hip-hop artists as influencing his rapping style, including Tupac,

, and Andre 3000. He described in an interview with Steve Lobel, "Jay was a mentor before I ever signed to him." "I studied his moves that much. ... I got to go on tour with him and steal a lot of gems. That's how you supposed to do it. You're supposed to learn and take pieces from the greatest. So, Jay was my mentor before I ever signed to him. And now that I signed to him it's just a blessing to be able to hit him for advice and get that real 20 years of experience or however long he been in the game. It's priceless." "My favorite rapper was

Pac Pac or PAC may refer to: Military * Rapid Deployment Force (Malaysia), an armed forces unit * Patriot Advanced Capability, of the MIM-104 Patriot missile * Civil Defense Patrols (''Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil''), Guatemalan militia and paramil ...

," he said. "He was my favorite rapper before I even started rapping. Before I even thought of—It went from

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

, Bobby Brown as a kid and artists like that. Even Kool Moe Dee. Just the cool dude that I looked up to. And then one day my stepfather came home from—I don't know if he was back from

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...

. ... I remember him coming home with that first Pac album. With ' Brenda's Got a Baby'. It was ''

2Pacalypse Now ''2Pacalypse Now'' is the debut studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on November 12, 1991, by Interscope and Jive Records. ''2Pacalypse Now'' is Tupac's commentary on contemporary social issues facing American society, such as ...

''. And since then—When I was too young to know what he was talking about, but it connected. Cause that's the thing about art. It's just truth. It's straight–Whatever you feel. So, even as a seven-year-old kid, eight-year-old kid I could hear Pac's early albums and feel the truth." Cole drew comparisons to Nas following the release of '' Friday Night Lights'', stating that Nas served as the primary inspiration behind the creation of the mixtape. Cole later addressed their musical similarities on " Let Nas Down", a song written and composed due to his disparaging comments towards " Work Out". As a response to this record, Nas came out with the song "Made Nas Proud" shortly after. In 2014, in an interview with Angie Martinez, Cole listed Tupac,

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

, Nas and Jay-Z as his top four rappers of all time, with

André 3000 André Lauren Benjamin (born May 27, 1975), better known as André 3000, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is best known for being a part of southern hip hop duo Outkast alongside fellow rapper Big Boi. ...

and Eminem being a toss-up for fifth.

Controversies

Diddy

In August 2013, Cole and Diddy were reportedly involved in an altercation at a 2013 MTV Video Music Awards after party in

. Reports said the incident started when Diddy tried to confront rapper

over the "King of New York" claim in his "

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlli ...

" verse. Diddy allegedly attempted to pour a drink on Lamar, and Cole intervened. The two started arguing and Cole and Diddy allegedly got into an altercation, which then led to problems between their respective crews. After a brief scuffle, both crews separated. Ibrahim Hamad, a close friend of Cole's and president of Dreamville Records took to Twitter to address the rumors saying: "The Internet is a crazy place you niggaz reporting shit with no facts, Cole ain't get thrown out no party and he damn sure aint get beat up", he continued saying, "Ain't gon go into details about last night but get the facts right first before you rush to report some shit for some extra blog clicks". A few months after the incident, Cole and Diddy allegedly squashed the beef when both were seen in a video promoting

Revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

, joking about the incident.

Reactions to ''False Prophets''

Upon the release of ''Eyez'' documentary in 2016, the songs "Everybody Dies" and "False Prophets" caused controversy within the hip hop community, as many assumed that "Everybody Dies" contained shots aimed at fellow rappers

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous fashion, im ...

and Lil Yachty. During an interview with

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

' radio station Power 106, Lil Yachty responded, saying: "I don't listen to J. Cole utI definitely listened to it ndpeople said he was talking about me. He said 'Lil.' I'm not little. My name has 'Lil' in it but there's a lot of 'Lil' rappers. t'seither me or Uzi. Honestly, I don't give a fuck." Lil Uzi Vert acknowledged the track, he responded via

on December 2, 2016 by simply tweeting, "Heard some beautiful shit today @JColeNC" People also argued that the first verse on "False Prophets" consisted of direct shots at rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, due to Cole's referencing to West's altering public perception by the media and fans; as well as Kanye's recent hospitalization. Many also presumed that the second verse was directed at rapper Wale, with Cole saying that despite Wale's fourth album receiving fairly positive critical and commercial success, Wale remains misunderstood and slighted by some of his peers. On December 3, Wale released a track, called "Groundhog Day" as a response to "False Prophets", and the pair were spotted together in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...

at a

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...

basketball game later that day. Cole spoke on "False Prophets" in an interview with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', he said:

Lil Pump

In April 2018, rapper Lil Pump teased a song titled "Fuck J. Cole" produced by fellow rapper

. Media outlets and rappers speculated that the song "

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

" from '' KOD'' was a response to the two, while Cole said in a ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' interview that "It's really a 'shoe fits' situation—several people can wear that shoe." Lil Pump reacted to the song hours after the album's release via

saying, "Wow, you get so much props. You dissed a 17 year old, lame ass jit." Later that day during a concert in

, Smokepurrp, along with his fans erupted in a chant of "Fuck J. Cole." According to Cole, the target of the song is more general. He said it takes aim at what he sees as the cartoon version of hip-hop, he explained: "If you exclude the top three rappers in the game, the most popping rappers all are exaggerated versions of black stereotypes. Extremely tatted up. Colorful hair. Flamboyant. Brand names. It's caricatures, and still the dominant representation of black people, on the most popular entertainment format for black people, period." On May 4, 2018, as Cole was performing at JMBLYA festival in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, he performed "1985", cutting off the backing track so he could rap his verse a cappella. The crowd erupted in chants of "Fuck Lil Pump" and "Fuck

6ix9ine Daniel Hernandez (born May 8, 1996), known professionally as 6ix9ine (stylized 6IX9INE and pronounced "six nine") and also as Tekashi69, is an American rapper. His music has been marked by an aggressive style of rapping, while his controversia ...

." Cole immediately shut down the chants telling the crowd, "Don't do that." Cole performed "1985" during his Rolling Loud Festival performance on May 11, 2018 in Miami. During the performance Lil Pump was seen dancing to the song near the stage. On May 25, after Rolling Loud, J. Cole and Lil Pump sat down for an hour-long interview indicating that a supposed beef between the two is over. Cole asked Pump about his "Fuck J. Cole" comments in his music and social media. Pump responds by claiming he had seen his fans commenting it on social media and didn't know why. "But now I kinda get it," he says. "We make different types of music, so people, like... People just like doing that shit." He continues, "It wasn't even serious... I fuck with your shit. It's hard."

Noname

In May 2020, in the midst of the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internat ...

, rapper Noname made a tweet panning rappers who discussed the struggles of black people in their music but had yet to publicly speak out on social media regarding the protests or

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

. The tweet read:

"Poor black folks all over the country are putting their bodies on the line in protest for our collective safety and y’all favorite top selling rappers not even willing to put a tweet up. niggas whole discographies be about black plight and they no where to be found".

Many assumed her tweet was aimed at Cole and Kendrick Lamar, both of whom had yet to post on social media about the protests at the time of her tweet. On June 16, 2020, Cole released a song titled, "

" addressing an unnamed woman, assumed to be Noname, while also touching on

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to ...

and

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

during the George Floyd protests. Shortly after the song's release, NoName tweeted "QUEEN TONE!!!!!!", referencing a lyric from the song. She later deleted the tweet. Many other artists defended Noname, including Ari Lennox, who is signed to Cole's Dreamville label. Lennox thanked Noname "for giving af about us constantly and endlessly", saying she appreciates "everything you onameput out to the world". Rapper

, criticized Cole, calling the song "not constructive" and saying it "undermines all the work Noname has done". Cole eventually addressed backlash in a series of tweets, defending his statements in the song and encouraging listeners to follow Noname on social media. Two days after the release of "Snow on tha Bluff", Noname released " Song 33", in which she alluded to Cole writing about her in the wake of the protests, rapping: "I guess the ego hurt now / It's time to go to work, wow, look at him go / He really 'bout to write about me when the world is in smokes? When there's people in trees? When George was beggin' for his mother sayin' he couldn't breathe? He thought to write about me?". Cole acknowledged the track shortly after its release, sharing a link to the song on Twitter. Cole and Noname previously collaborated in 2015, on the song "Warm Enough" from Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment's '' Surf'' album.

Business ventures

Dreamville Records

During the composition of '' The Come Up'', Cole started his own record label in early 2007 with current label president Ibrahim Hamad. Cole sought for an avenue to release his own music, while Hamad yearned to start a record label, prompting the two to team up to form Dreamville Records. The label is currently distributed by

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...

Cole,

, and Bas were the label's inaugural artists. The label houses artists including Cole, Omen, Bas, Cozz,

Lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

, Ari Lennox, JID, and duo EarthGang. In-house producers include

, Ron Gilmore, Cedric Brown, and Meez. Dreamville Records has released nine albums, with three certified platinum or higher by the

(RIAA).

The Dreamville Foundation

In October 2011, Cole established The Dreamville Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Foundation says that it was "created to 'bridge the gap' between the worlds of opportunity and the urban youth" of Cole's hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. With volunteers, the Foundation conducts philanthropic activities, such as an annual "Back To School Supply Giveaway" to provide supplies to schoolchildren. The Foundation also launched a book club for young men and sponsored "The Nobody's Perfect Writing Contest and Mother's Day Brunch" for students. It sponsors an annual weekend of Fayetteville community events called the "Dreamville Weekend" that features a discussion with the Young Men's Book Club and Appreciation Dinner and a Career Day panel of African-American professionals in a variety of fields. In 2014, Cole purchased his childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for $120,000 through the Dreamville Foundation. The home had been repossessed from his mother years earlier, while Jermaine was attending college in New York. His plan is to turn the house into a homestead for single mothers and their children to live rent-free.

Tidal

In March 2015, Project Panther, the business of Cole's mentor

, acquired Aspiro, the owner of the music streaming service Tidal, for a reported $56 million. J. Cole is a minor shareholder of the service, along with 15 other artist stakeholders, including

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as Deadmau5 (stylized as deadmau5; pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and DJ. He mainly produces progressive house music, though he also produce ...

, and

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents ...

Dreamville Festival

On April 27, 2018, J. Cole announced the Dreamville Festival, the festival featuring local music, culture, food and art, and also include a mix of up-and-comers and national acts. It is expected to be an annual festival. However, in the wake of Hurricane Florence, the event was postponed from its original date. The festival was rescheduled and held at the historic

Dorothea Dix Park Dorothea (also spelled Dorothée, Dorotea or other variants) is a female given name from Greek (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift". It may refer to: People * Dorothea Binz (1920–1947), German concentration camp officer executed for war cri ...

on April 6, 2019. The lineup included all of Dreamville's artists as well as

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays before signing with the h ...

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

, 6LACK,

, Teyana Taylor, Saba, Rapsody, and Mez. The Dreamville Festival plans to donate proceeds to the Dorothea Dix Park Convervancy and the Dreamville Foundation.

Fashion

In February 2020, J. Cole announced a multi-year footwear and apparel partnership with Puma as an ambassador for the brand. According to the global director of Puma, Cole is involved in product creation, marketing campaigns and cultural guidance. With the announcement, Puma and Cole released a short film for the reimagined "Sky Dreamer" shoes, which debuted during the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. On July 31, 2020, PUMA and J. Cole released their debut collaboration shoe, the PUMA RS-Dreamer. Cole commented on the signature shoe saying: "Over the years, basketball shoes have progressed greatly in their level of technology and comfort but have strayed too far away from designs stylish enough for cultural relevancy. The Dreamer hopes to change that reality. The highest level of on-court performance meets the highest level of aesthetic design for daily wear. Once again, you can hoop in the same shoes you wore outside." The launch of the shoe coincided with the restart of the

2019–20 NBA season The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was supposed to end on April 15, 2020. However, the season was suspended on March 11 as a resul ...

Personal life

In a January 2016 interview with director Ryan Coogler, Cole revealed that he was married. His wife, Melissa Heholt, who met Cole while they were students at St. John’s University, is the Executive Director of the Dreamville Foundation. Also in a May 2018 interview with radio host Angie Martinez, Cole stated that he and his wife have a son together. In 2019, he publicly spoke about his son. On July 20, 2020, Cole revealed he has two children. Cole is dual citizen of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and United States.

Discography

Studio albums * '' Cole World: The Sideline Story'' (2011) * '' Born Sinner'' (2013) * '' 2014 Forest Hills Drive'' (2014) * '' 4 Your Eyez Only'' (2016) * '' KOD'' (2018) * '' The Off-Season'' (2021) * ''The Fall Off'' (TBA)

Concert tours

Headlining * Cole World... World Tour (2011) * What Dreams May Come Tour (2013–14) * Dollar & A Dream Tour (2013) * Dollar & A Dream Tour 2014: '' The Warm Up'' (2014) * Forest Hills Drive Tour (2015) * Dollar & A Dream Tour III: '' Friday Night Lights'' (2015) *

(2017) *

(2018) Co-headlining * The Campus Consciousness Tour (2012) * Revenge of the Dreamers NYC Crawl (2015) * The Off-Season Tour (2021) Supporting act * Jay-Z Fall Tour (2009) * Attention Deficit Tour (2009) * Loud Tour (2011) * Club Paradise Tour (2012) * Rapture Tour (2014)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
J. Cole
on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

.com
Basketball Africa League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, J. 1985 births Living people 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American rappers African-American basketball players African-American male rappers African-American male singer-songwriters African-American record producers American expatriate basketball people in Rwanda American hip hop record producers American hip hop singers American men's basketball players American music industry executives American salespeople Basketball players from North Carolina Businesspeople from North Carolina Columbia Records artists Dreamville Records artists Grammy Award winners Grammy Award winners for rap music Musicians from Fayetteville, North Carolina Patriots BBC players Rappers from North Carolina Roc Nation artists Scarborough Shooting Stars players Shooting guards Songwriters from North Carolina Southern hip hop musicians St. John's University (New York City) alumni American expatriate basketball people in Canada