J Cole

Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born in a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained attention as a rapper following the release of his debut mixtape, ''The Come Up'', in early 2007. Intent on further pursuing a musical career, he signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation in 2009 and released two additional mixtapes: ''The Warm Up'' (2009) and '' Friday Night Lights'' (2010) to further critical acclaim as he garnered a wider following.

Each of Cole's studio albums have peaked atop the US ''Billboard'' 200, beginning with his debut, '' Cole World: The Sideline Story'' (2011), and its follow-up, ''Born Sinner'' (2013). Both met with critical acclaim, the albums spawned the ''Billboard'' Hot 100-top 40 singles " Work Out", " Power Trip" (featuring Miguel), and "Crooked Smile" (featuring TLC). Despite commercial success, Cole departed from the pop-oriented sound of the albums in favor of conscious subject matter for his subsequent projects; themes of nostalgia, racial inequality, and materialism were explored respectively in his following releases: ''2014 Forest Hills Drive'' (2014), ''4 Your Eyez Only'' (2016) and '' KOD'' (2018). ''4 Your Eyez Only'' yielded his furthest commercial success—selling an estimated 500,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, while the latter featured a then-record six simultaneous top 20 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100—the first time a musical act achieved this feat since English rock band the Beatles in 1964. His sixth album, ''The Off-Season'' (2021), was met with continued success and spawned the single " My Life" (with 21 Savage and Morray), which peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Its chart success was matched by his guest appearance on the 2023 single " All My Life" by Lil Durk, and succeeded by his first song to peak the chart, "First Person Shooter" by Drake that same year. The former also won Cole a Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance.

Self-taught on piano, Cole also acts as a producer alongside his recording career—having largely handled the production of his own projects—with credits on material for other artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Janet Jackson, Young Thug, Wale, and Mac Miller, among others. Cole's side ventures include his record label Dreamville Records, as well as its namesake media company and non-profit. The label, having signed artists including JID, Ari Lennox, Bas, and EarthGang, has released four compilation albums; their third, ''Revenge of the Dreamers III'' (2019), debuted atop the ''Billboard'' 200 and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. In January 2015, Cole began housing single mothers rent-free at his childhood home in Fayetteville.

Cole has won two Grammy Awards from seventeen nominations, a ''Billboard'' Music Award for Top Rap Album, three Soul Train Music Awards, and eight BET Hip Hop Awards. Each of his albums—including ''Revenge of the Dreamers III''—have received platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Early life

Jermaine Lamarr Cole was born on January 28, 1985, at an American military base in Frankfurt, West Germany. His father is an African American veteran, who served in the US Army, and his mother, Kay, born in Michigan, is a white American who was a postal worker for the United States Postal Service. 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. 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, 'venever felt white. I can identify ith white peoplebut 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, Cole later switched to communications after witnessing the life of a lonely computer science professor. At the college, Cole was the president of Haraya, a pan-African student coalition. He graduated ''magna cum laude'' 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 at a skate rink.

His mother struggled with addiction after his stepfather left.

Musical career

1999–2008: Beginnings and early work

After becoming musically inspired by Canibus, Nas, Tupac, and Eminem, Cole and his cousin worked on developing their basic understanding of rhyming and wordplay. 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 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 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 appeared on Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek's single, "Just Begun" for the follow-up of Reflection Eternal's album ''Train of Thought'' (2000), titled ''Revolutions Per Minute'' (2010). Cole also appeared on B.o.B's mixtape ''May 25'' (2010), on the song "Gladiators", produced by The Alchemist.

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

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