This is pretty hilarious.

In a detailed monologue last night at one of New York City’s Born Sinner listening events, J. Cole went into very deep detail about the trying process he went through to find the lead single to his debut album. He speaks on getting in the studio with No I.D. directly after releasing The Warm Up, and crafting all the ideas necessary for a successful debut, but running into roadblocks during conversations with Jay-Z and Columbia Records about the search for his lead single. From “Who Dat”, to “Higher”, to “Blow Up”, to “Can’t Get Enough”, to “Work Out”, Cole tried time and time again to get the right song to set off his debut album campaign, and feeling pressured into dropping Friday Night Lights because the process took so long. He chronicles the process in the 13 minute video below.

-Khari Nixon (@KingVanGogh)