J. Cole joins Elliott Wilson for the second installation of the #CRWN interviews.
Ever since we got a taste of Cole’s potential, the greedy fan in all of us took over our musical alter egos. With the constant flow (or inundation) of music being put out by artists, as listeners we naturally become inpatient. We begin to question the artist like we have done with J. Cole, who by the way, is seeking to answer all questions on June 18th. Born Sinner is set for a release date that will rival Kanye’s heavily anticipated 6th solo album Yeezus and Mac Miller’s sophomore project Watching Movies with the Sound Off. This has the hip-hop community blithely awaiting for the day that could be talked about for years to come.
A quiet quandary still lurks in the air and fills up rooms when groups of people talk about J. Cole. I get it, there are doubters, but if there is one thing J. Cole is not, is a flop. His cameos, features, and singles have given fans a little something to hold onto but perhaps most of us are guilty of not giving him enough rope. He understands that as an artist, first and foremost, the output should be superlative and he should be at his best when putting out music for us to appreciate.
Fans gathered as the clock struck midnight and a huge line curved around 9th Avenue at 16th Street far from the doors of Highline Ballroom, everyone patiently waiting to hear what was on Cole’s mind. On a misty Tuesday night (early Wednesday morning), Elliott Wilson sat down with J. Cole for a thought provoking two hours and change. If there is one thing I took away from this interview it’s that young “Simba” has matured. Luckily, if you missed it, here are 10 interesting facts from last night’s CRWN interview.
10. Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt did not resonate with him. In that era, J. Cole was more of a Tupac fan.
9. Anticipating no radio play from Born Sinner’s promotional single Miss America, he says he put it out hoping it would get some air time because Work Out did well on the radio.
8. J. Cole was in attendance at Kanye West’s first SOB’s show in New York City. As he watched, he knew Kanye would become a legend.
7. When asked about the album projections for Born Sinner v.s. Yeezus he says “I’m nervous and I’m scared and I have no clue.”
6. Cole feels like he has reached a point in his career where everyone feels like competition. “Like, nothing they do is out of my reach”, says J. Cole.
5. No features. Extra, extra, read all about it! No one is rapping on Born Sinner besides J. Cole himself.
4. Despite doing well on his first album, J. Cole admits he fumbled by not taking advice from Jay-Z or pursuing Jay’s opinion when it came to song selection.
3. This album was started from scratch, no recycled material, nothing pre-recorded. “My first album I had songs ready, this time I had nothing,” J. Cole shares with Wilson.
2. Cole got a good chunk of the album done in L.A. This might be irrelevant to some but those who are in the loop know how important it is for an artist to be in a comfortable environment when they get to work. Perhaps he found something in California that allowed him to fundamentally execute his creative process.
1. Confidently but amiably, Cole lets the audience know that all of the production on Born Sinner is his. That’s right folks, solo raps and solo production. Look out!
Virgilio Mendez (@REGULARGUYV)
