''The Warm Up'' is the second official mixtape from American rapper

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 d ...

. It was released on June 15, 2009. J. Cole produced the majority of the mixtape with help from

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

, and

Syience Reginald "Reggie" Perry, better known as Syience, is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, record producer and musician from Flint, Michigan. He has worked with a number of recognizable and respected artists, including Beyoncé, Cheryl Col ...

. The mixtape has been viewed over 3,100,000 times, streamed over 451,000 times, and downloaded over 700,000 times on

DatPiff DatPiff was an online audio distribution platform that was launched in 2005. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The site was founded in the spring of 2005 by Marcus Frasier. It is owned by Me ...

. The mixtape went Double Platinum on

. On November 22, 2024, the mixtape was re-released onto streaming platforms, accompanying the third episode release of Cole's audio podcast series ''Inevitable'', which focused on this mixtape.

Background

In November, the single "

Lights Please "Lights Please" is a song by American rapper J. Cole, released on June 15, 2009 from his second mixtape, ''The Warm Up''. The song was later released as a single on November 24, 2009 and appeared on his debut studio album, '' Cole World: The Sid ...

" was released. It was met with great critical acclaim and caught the attention of rap mogul

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

. In December 2008, J. Cole dropped the mixtape ''The Warm Up to The Warm Up'', which included many songs that would make the final cut of ''The Warm Up'' such as “Grown Simba”, “Dollar and a Dream II”, "'Til Infinity" and the original version of “ In The Morning” - a song that would later be remixed and included on '' Friday Night Lights''. In January 2009, Cole released the promotional single "I Got It".

Reception

J. Cole was famously signed to

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an American entertainment company founded by Jay-Z in 2008. Headquartered in New York City, the company is a successor to his previous Roc-A-Fella Records label, with additional offices in Los Angeles and London. It serves as a re ...

after Jay-Z heard the track "

" prior to the release of the mixtape. In August 2010, J. Cole was awarded the UMA Male Artist of the Year thanks to his heralded ''The Warm Up'' mixtape. He was awarded the first ever Sucker Free Summit Who's Got Next in 2010 because of the mixtape. On June 26, 2013, J. Cole announced that he would be re-releasing ''The Warm Up'' and '' Friday Night Lights'' for retail sale, in order to give them the push they deserved. In his review for

MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History ...

, music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

gave the mixtape a two-star honorable mention, indicating a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy." He cited "World Is Empty" and "Get Away" as highlights and quipped, "He's so talented you can hear how much he wants it, so talented you wince every time he shoots himself in the foot, e.g. 'Put some chains on my niggaz like I own slaves'".

Track listing

Sample credits * "Grown Simba" samples "Overture: A Partial History of Black Music" by

Mervyn Warren Mervyn Edwin Warren (born February 29, 1964) is an American film composer, record producer, Conductor (music), conductor, musical arranger, arranger, lyricist, songwriter, pianist, and vocalist. Warren is a five-time Grammy Award winner and a 1 ...

* "Just To Get By" samples "

Get By "Get By" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Talib Kweli. It was released on March 11, 2003, as the third single from his debut studio album ''Quality'' (2002). Produced by Kanye West, the hip hop track samples " Sinnerman" as perfo ...

" by

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

* "Dead Presidents II" samples "

Dead Presidents ''Dead Presidents'' is a 1995 American crime film co-written, produced and directed by the Hughes brothers, Hughes Brothers. The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate a ...

" by

* "World Is Empty" samples "My World Is Empty Without You" by Lee Fields & The Expressions * "Dreams" samples "

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

" by

Hank Crawford Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. (December 21, 1934 – January 29, 2009) was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for ...

* "Royal Flush" samples " Royal Flush" by

Big Boi Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper ...

(which samples "

Voyage to Atlantis The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades ...

" by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

) * "Water Break" samples "I Shot Ya" by

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

and "Warning" by

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 the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

* "Heartache" samples *"Born to Live with Heartache" by

Mary Love Mary Love (born Mary Ann Varney; July 27, 1943 – June 21, 2013) was an American soul and gospel singer, and Christian evangelist. After the 1980s she was known as Mary Love Comer. Life Love was born as Mary Ann Varney (or Mary Ann Allen, acc ...

* "Get Away" samples "Cross My Heart" by

Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American R&B singer and pianist popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James, and Frank as the ...

* "Knock Knock" samples " Knock Knock" by Monica. * "Ladies" samples "Ladies" by Lee Fields & The Expressions * "Til' Infinity" samples "'93 'Til Infinity" by

Souls of Mischief Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of rappers A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai. History East Oakland ...

* "The Badness" samples "Sunset Drive" by

Husky Rescue Husky Rescue is a Finnish electronic music band from Helsinki, formed in 2002. The group consists of Marko Nyberg, Johanna Kalén, and Antony Bentley. History 2002–2010 Husky Rescue was formed by Marko Nyberg, who began composing under the n ...

* "Last Call" samples "Last Call" by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

* "Losing My Balance" samples "Balance" by

Sara Tavares Sara Alexandra Lima Tavares (; 1 February 1978 – 19 November 2023) was a Portuguese singer, composer, guitarist and percussionist. She was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal. Second-generation Portuguese of Cape Verdean descent, she comp ...

Charts

References

External links

J. ColeJ. Cole - The Warm Up Mixtape
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warm Up, The 2009 mixtape albums J. Cole mixtape albums Albums produced by J. Cole Dreamville Records mixtape albums