J. COLE
FULL NAME
Jermaine Lamarr Cole
BORN
January 28, 1985
Frankfurt, Germany
ORIGIN
Fayetteville, North Carolina
GENRE
Hip hop
LABELS
Roc Nation, Columbia
Records
CURRENT SINGLE
Crooked Smile (ft. TLC)
TWITTER
Follow @JColeNC
4, 087, 840 + followers
FACEBOOK
2, 282, 654 + likes
WEBSITE
BIO
With his first album Cole World: The Sideline Story, the
Fayetteville, North Carolina MC solidified his position as a bonafide rap star
touring the world with hit records and then earning himself a nomination at the
54th Grammy Awards. Now with his sophomore LP Born Sinner scheduled for a June
25 release on Roc Nation/Sony the once humble kid stands tall as confident man
on a musical mission.
"I didn’t know conceptually what it was going to be, I just
knew that I had to come right back. I wasn’t satisfied with the first
album," Cole says of Born Sinner.
Cole’s first album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart when
it was released in September 2011, earned him a gold plaque and spawned the
platinum-selling, hit-single "Work Out." He promises Born Sinner will
top it all. "I think I’m somebody that’s finally starting to realize how
good I am and starting to realize I can do anything I put my mind to, as cliche
as it sounds," he says.
Jermaine Cole got his start rapping and producing as a teen in
North Carolina. In 2009 he signed to JAY Z’s Roc Nation then dropped his The
Warm Up (2009) and Friday Night Lights (2010) mixtapes, which paved the way for
his major label debut. He now stands as one of music’s most respected and
sought after rap lyricists. Not only has Cole crafted underground favorites
with Wale ("Beautiful Bliss "), Reflection Eternal ("Just
Begun") and French Montana ("Diamonds") he has been called on by
music’s biggest stars JAY Z ("A Star is Born"), Beyoncé
("Party" remix) and Kanye West ("Looking for Trouble").
Having experienced a healthy amount of success early on, for
Born Sinner Cole made a creative return to the routines that initially got him
his deal. "I got back to what it used to be, straight making music in the
bedroom. No studio," he says.
The shift resulted in "Power Trip," Born Sinner’s
multi-layered first single featuring Grammy Award-winning R&B vocalist
Miguel. Cole released the song on Valentine’s Day 2013 and already has cracked
the top 10 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Rap charts. The song’s
melodic sample-based instrumental creates the perfect sound bed for Cole’s deep
lyrical whims which center around the complex feelings that love can create.
Its groundbreaking video only enhances the experience, telling a dark tale of
obsession and murder.
"This single is so organic. It happened at a time where I
needed to get away from the studio," Cole says. "I just start cooking
up in the house. I started with the drums, added the sample, added the music,
then I added that percussion and bass line and started humming melodies. That
was a fun night, probably the most fun I’ve had in a long time making a
song."
Cole’s story begins with music, but extends so far outside of
the recording studio. In February he was invited to Harvard University to
spearhead an hour-long lecture titled "The Next Move: A Conversation With
J. Cole," where he spoke with students about his early influences, dreams
of playing professional basketball in the NBA and lyrical inspiration. It’s
that same story that inspired all of the music on Born Sinner, which Cole
produced in its entirety. "The things that I’ve been through is the reason
for that, it all makes me stronger," he says. "All that will be told
on the album, people will get it."
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