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[MUSIC PLAYING]
ELLIOTT WILSON: You always say, how many Kanye beats does
a *** have to ***?
You rhymed over a lot of his tracks.
J. COLE: Yes.
ELLIOTT WILSON: And then he reached out for "Looking for
Trouble." And people love that still.
That was an incredible verse for your career.
J. COLE: That was a good one.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Talk about your personal interaction with
him, that you've had.
J. COLE: Every person interaction I've ever had with
Kanye West has only been great.
In person he's super humble, super nice guy.
He sent me a email.
This is when he's notorious for not having a phone.
He just sends emails.
He sent me an email about "Work Out"
that was really nice.
It was after that came out.
He was just giving me props on it.
Any time I run into him, he's just a great dude.
ELLIOTT WILSON: How did looking for trouble come
together, that you was able to be on that record?
J. COLE: They reached out to me.
I think No I.D. hit me first.
There's a G.O.O.D. Friday joint they want you on.
And then I was on tour at the time, in the middle of nowhere
cities, middle of nowhere towns.
And it just happened to be at a time when I was in the
middle of Michigan, the middle of nowhere.
And they really needed it.
It was Good Friday.
So I'm sure they were doing them joints last minute.
Friday morning, they was probably still working on it.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Saturday morning.
J. COLE: Saturday morning.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Saturday afternoon.
J. COLE: Friday morning I wake up.
And Kanye West is on my phone.
He's like, yo what's up?
Can you get this joint done?
And even looking back, I'm such an idiot.
Because I'm like, I don't know, Kanye.
I'm just trying to be real.
I'm in the middle of *** nowhere.
I don't have no equipment.
He's telling me, I got to do this verse for Keri.
I'm working, too.
Looking back, I should have just been like, yes, ***,
I'll make it happen.
But he gave me the spiel and made me realize I'm bugging.
So we drove maybe two, three hours to Detroit.
And as we riding to Detroit I'm writing that
verse in the car.
As soon as we get to Detroit some *** had the pistol on
the [INAUDIBLE].
That's how you know we in Detroit.
ELLIOTT WILSON: A pistol on the Pro Tools.
J. COLE: I walk into this random studio, that I have no
idea where the *** we at.
The engineer, this *** has his pistol on the ***--
I don't even know.
You could at least tuck it, man.
Make me feel *** safer.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Looking for trouble.
J. COLE: I was looking for trouble for real.
Damn, that was crucial.
That was good.
I did a "Looking for Trouble" verse.
And then the rest was history.
ELLIOTT WILSON: One final Kanye question.
Do you think that he's impacted on his side?
Do you think he considers you competition?
Do you think he'll, as a competitor, send you a text or
a note after, see how things measure up?
J. COLE: I don't know.
That's a Kanye West question.
I don't know.
I know that.
There was a point in time when these guys were my favorites.
And they still are.
But there was a point in time when they
seemed so far for me.
Even though I believed in my talent, but they
seemed so far away.
They were so good.
It's reached a level where it's like now everybody feels
like my competition.
That's just being honest.
It no longer feels like things that they do
are out of my reach.
Not like, oh, I could do that.
But I know that what I bring to the
table is just as special.
Maybe the world don't know.
But I believe now.
Before it was like, damn this *** could
just go and drop that?
And now it's just like, OK, I got something too.
I wouldn't have moved my date if I didn't feel
confident in myself.
I couldn't have did that three years ago.
Can I tell y'all a funny story?
ELLIOTT WILSON: Yeah.
J. COLE: I got to tell this story.
We was in Vegas this weekend.
Flo Rida was in the club.
I don't know this is for random.
Flo Rida was in the club this weekend, and it
stunted on my life.
I was just at the club.
And he was performing.
This is a funny story.
This is incredible.
I look at Flo Rida like I got to bow to him
now because of this.
Flo Rida was in the club performing his songs.
And after every song was over, he'd be like, yeah, that last
record right there just sold 5 million singles.
Let's give it to this next one.
So me and my *** look at each other like, did this
*** just say five?
ELLIOTT WILSON: Did you put stats
through the numbers after?
J. COLE: So then he doesn't know this song.
I'm thinking, it's over.
He's like, yeah, I appreciate the love, y'all.
Thank you for your support.
That last record right there did 5 million too.
I'm looking like, I feel like he's stunting on me right now.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Flo Rida's stunting on you?
J. COLE: I may have a future with him, so listen.
He does one more song.
And at the end of that song he was like, that last record
right there did 5 million, too.
I don't even count no more.
I just press play.
I was like ***.
So then Future gets on the mic.
Because they got a new single together.
Future, that's my ***, man.
So Future gets on the mic.
And they start the song.
And he's like, ***, I hope this *** do 10 million.
ELLIOTT WILSON: "Work Out" did one 1.2 million.
J. COLE: "Work Out" did a measly 2 million.
ELLIOTT WILSON: 2 million.
J. COLE: But it did.
ELLIOTT WILSON: But for a song that everyone hated on the
internet, when you dropped it.
How did you deal with that?
J. COLE: Man, it hurt.
I ain't going to lie.
Because, honestly, even talking about now, it's likely
either I make the decision to tell the whole story right
now, which I know you're like, yeah, ***, I
paid all this money.
You better tell me the story.
But--
ELLIOTT WILSON: No refunds.
No refunds.
J. COLE: It's either I tell it now, or I just let people hear
it the way I'm going to give it.
But yes, it did hurt when that *** came out.
Because you've got to know to the back story, and the *** I
had to go through.
To the point that when I made "Work Out," it was like a--
whoo.
This what the *** y'all was talking about.
I know this is the *** y'all been waiting for, right?
Please.
Not y'all.
I"m talking about the radio, the label, the system.
I felt like I beat the game.
So when I made it, I was *** so excited and
ecstatic, like finally.
Give me a *** release date.
Let's go.
I got the single that's going to kill.
And I knew, too, from studying the radio.
Because you've got to understand, starting with "Who
Dat," I had been doing radio runs.
I knew that "Work Out" was a slow burner.
I knew that right away it wouldn't be an impact record.
Like when Drake drops, that *** is going straight to the
top, and fast.
I knew that "Work Out" was a slow burner.
And that once it hit a point, it was going to be over with,
which it proved to be.
But when I made it I was so excited to put it out and get
their reaction.
It was a hurtful--
I had never gotten no type of response like that.
*** hurt, crazy.
And it goes even deeper.
And you'll hear it on the album.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Can we talk about your man, Kendrick?
Because you did the second "Born Sinner" on him.
Explain your relationship.
You guys are pretending you're putting out an album together.
Are we still pretending you're doing that?
J. COLE: It's not pretending.
That's not pretending, man.
ELLIOTT WILSON: It's not pretending.
J. COLE: What do you want to know about Kendrick?
He's *** crazy.
ELLIOTT WILSON: I feel like the one thing you said also,
with the success of "Sidelines," you feel like, in
some ways, you may have helped him.
Because it's a similar path, where he took this
time what his album.
He didn't necessarily have these records
that were big on radio.
And they resonated after he was very
successful out the gate.
And in some ways, "Sideline Story" was the precursor to
"Good Kid, Bad City," in a sense of that.
And you guys have a great rapport.
J. COLE: Yes.
That's my man, first and foremost.
And I just feel proud.
Because I've seen it.
I try to tell people early.
And it just makes me feel--
I never really even stamped nobody before.
Before my album was even out, before he even had a deal, I
was making sure to stamp him.
It's a long story.
But just even getting to how we met, it was so organic.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Tell us the story.
J. COLE: It was like the XXL Freshman cover shoot.
And I was coming in late.
Because our flight got cancelled.
And we just barely made it.
And he introduced himself to me.
Which I vaguely remember now, when he tells me.
But my first recollection was, there was as a group who's now
disbanded called You and I from LA who I
was real cool with--
still am cool with.
So they had an album release party in LA, at this little
lounge, maybe 200 people.
We go to the lounge.
They celebrating.
They just put an EP, or an album, or whatever it is.
And they rocking the mic.
And they call up this kid.
They like, this is our man, blah.
Give it up.
Kendrick Lamar.
I didn't even hear the name.
I just looked.
And somebody started rapping.
And as soon as he started rapping, I'm
like, what the ***?
This ***'s hungry, hungry.
I'm in there.
I think I had "The Warm Up" out at the time.
I probably didn't even have "Friday Night Lights." I
definitely didn't have "Friday Night Lights."
So as soon as it's over, I'm the type of person, if I'm
feeling something, if I feel a certain way, I'm going to let
you know immediately.
Chance the rapper saying wait, because he
just put out a tape.
And I made sure.
I hit them up, like, yo, you're awesome.
ELLIOTT WILSON: You reached out to him?
J. COLE: Yeah.
Because he deserved that.
That's another stamp right there.
Watch that.
That's going to-- not because of me, but
because I see the talent.
Kendrick was one that I saw right away.
OK, this kid is special.
Came up to him, showed him love.
He was like, yo, I met you at the XXL thing.
ELLIOTT WILSON: You came in all late, like a diva.
J. COLE: So I'm just like, yo, send me some ***.
And then he sent me some.
I never forget.
The two songs he sent me, one was the, ***, I'm going to
cut you off.
And he sent me-- this is before that tape, that OD
joint came out.
So he sent me "Cut You Off." Then he sent me "*** and
Patron" all on my email.
And I'm going around to all my friends like, yo, listen.
ELLIOTT WILSON: Listen to "*** and Patron," everybody.
J. COLE: I'm like, yo, we got the next dream.
I promise you, I was like, this *** is for Dreamville
right here.
Because I didn't know he had-- no ***.
I was like, yo, I'm trying to sign this ***.
I had no clue he was already *** with Top Dog.
Because he didn't have a major deal.
But he was already *** with Top.
So that's how I first met him.
And from there it was a real organic relationship.
So me and Kendrick go back to before he had a deal, before I
had "Friday Night Lights" out.
It was just a mutual respect.
ELLIOTT WILSON: It's great you mentioned Chance.
I was going to ask you, now you have a whole generation
that's coming after you type of thing.
I wanted to know who you like from that generation that
stood out to.
Anybody besides Chance?
J. COLE: Yeah, Joey Bada$$ is incredible.
He just put out a song today that I heard of *** nuts.
Joey Bada$$, if you're going to come with a sound that's
vintage, you better do it right.
And Joey Bada$$ is doing that *** right.
He's really paying tribute to a style of rap that is not
appreciated anymore.
I listen to him, I'm like, damn, I love this ***.
Because that's the school that I come from.
ELLIOTT WILSON: You also--
reminds me of that line you say about the '90s rappers
*** the game.
Do you feel like sometimes there's pressure on the 2000
emcees to challenge that, and build your own new era, and
take that on?
I guess that also speaks to you, even going against.
Kanye?
Kanye's 2000s also.
But people want to say, with Kendrick's album, and the
success he had, do you feel like with you coming out and
Wale, and Sean, that you guys are a building a whole new
golden age?
J. COLE: We have to.
Because if me, Kendrick--
ELLIOTT WILSON: Drake.
J. COLE: Drake are not--
we can't.
We're not going to.
But we can't be--
put it like this.
If not us, then who?
This *** is going to die.
Because you can't just keep-- and I love-- you're talking to
a *** that loves Jay-Z, loves Kanye West, loves Nas.
But at some point you've got to stop acting like nobody can
do it better.
Because if you really hold onto that belief, you're never
going to see the *** that actually might be taking it to
another place.
If you always praising Michael Jordan, and we love Michael
Jordan, you're never going to realize that LeBron James is
*** amazing.
Kevin Durant is *** amazing.
ELLIOTT WILSON: It all goes back to LeBron.
J. COLE: It all goes back to LeBron.
ELLIOTT WILSON: All roads go to LeBron.
J. COLE: But my point is you have to allow new legends.
Allow for there to be new legends.
You can't always-- there's a song, "Stay." "Stay" is a Nas
song that came on his album.
But originally, that *** is my song.
I was in the studio.
while No I.D. looped up the sample.
And *** was playing keys and guitar.
And I wrote the raps before the beat was even done
being looped up.
In my world, that's my song.
I was there when the song--
I didn't pay for to beat.
Long story short, Nas got it.
When I put out my version of it-- which was of substantial
time after, because I didn't want to be disrespectful.
I've seen comments.
And people like, J. Cole's "Stay"L could never touch
Nas's version.
And in my mind I'm like, OK, I understand.
This is Nas.
ELLIOTT WILSON: What?
J. COLE: This is Nas, one of the greatest.
But you're just saying that.
You're not even giving me a *** chance.
That's my song.
You don't even know.
My point is that you've got to allow for the new generation
to be great.
That's my only point.
[CHEERING]