J. Cole

In the world, there are many successful rappers in the hip-hop scenes. Today, we are talking about J. Cole who is known for releasing his five consecutive number one studio albums, Born Sinner (2013), 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014), 4 Your Eyez Only (2016), and KOD (2018). He is among those rappers with formidable mic skills, but surprisingly he slips under the radar when a list of most popular rappers is released. Also, he appeared in several films and TV series as an actor. Throughout his career, He has won 8 BET Hip Hop Awards, 3 Soul Train Awards, 1 Billboard Music Award, & 1 Grammy Award. To know more about him, you can read the below article.

What is J. Cole best known for?

• An American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and record executive. 

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When is J. Cole from?

Going back to his early life, J. Cole was born under the birth sign of Aquarius to his parents as Jermaine Lamarr Cole in the year 1985 which makes him 35 years old at present. His mother, Kay Cole worked as a postal worker for the US Postal Service while his father was a former US Army veteran. He raised along with his siblings named Zach Cole in Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. while his birth place is in Frankfurt, Hesse, West Germany. Their family moved to the US when he was eight months old and has been there ever since. He holds German-American nationality and his ethnicity mixed. 

For education, He attended Terry Sanford High School with a 4.2 GPA, which helped him get a scholarship from St. John’s University in New York City. He graduated magna cum laude from the university with a 3.8 GPA in 2009.

Source: @answersafrica

How did J. Cole get into music?

• Upon his graduation, J. Cole worked in various part-time jobs in Fayetteville, including a working ad salesman for a newspaper, a bill collector, a file clerk, and a kangaroo mascot at a skating rink.
• Later, he landed in the music industry through his The Come Up mixtape.
• Later in 2009, he released his second mixtape, The Warm-Up. He also appeared on B.o.B’s mixtape May 25 (2010), on the song “Gladiators”, produced by The Alchemist.
• After that, Не соllаbоrаtеd wіth ѕеvеrаl muѕісіаnѕ ѕuсh аѕ Јау Z, Wаlеѕ, Таlіb Кwеlі, Тrеу Ѕоngѕ, Каnуе Wеѕt аmоng оthеrѕ bеfоrе rеlеаѕіng hіѕ dеbut аlbum Соlе Wоrld: Тhе Ѕіdеlіnе Ѕtоrу (2011). Тhе аlbum dеbutеd tо роѕіtіоn оnе оn Віllbоаrd 200 аnd сurrеntlу іtѕ сеrtіfіеd gоld аnd hаѕ ѕоld оvеr 800,000 соріеѕ аѕ оf tоdау.
• He served as a supporting act for Drake on the Light Dreams and Nightmares UK Tour, from January 5th to 21st, 2011.
• The same year, Cole World: The Sideline Story was released which debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with 218,000 copies in its first week of sales.
• In 2012, His final single debut album was released. The song, titled “Nobody’s Perfect”, features renowned female rapper Missy Elliott, marking her return to music.
• Ніѕ ѕесоnd ѕtudіо аlbum, “Воrn Ѕіnnеr” wаѕ rеlеаѕеd іn 2013 accompanied by 2 ЕР’s named Тrulу Yоurѕ 2 (2013) and Тrulу Yоurѕ 3 (2013). Тhе аlbum dеbutеd аt роѕіtіоn twо оn Віllbоаrd 200 сhаrt ѕеllіng оvеr 795k соріеѕ. Ѕоmе оf thе ѕоngѕ іn thе аlbum аrе “Сrооkеd Ѕmіlе,” “Ѕhе Кnоwѕ” аnd “Fоrbіddеn Fruіt.” 
• In 2015, he announced a documentary series titled J. Cole: Road to Homecoming, ahead of his HBO special Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming. The series included five episodes.
• Ѕоmе оf thе оthеr ѕtudіо аlbumѕ hе hаѕ rеlеаѕеd аrе 2014 Fоrеѕt Ніllѕ Drіvе (2014), аnd 4 Yоur Еуеz Оnlу (2016). Не hаѕ аlѕо rеlеаѕеd оnе Lіvе Аlbum Fоrеѕt Ніllѕ Drіvе: Lіvе (2016) аnd соmріlаtіоn аlbum Rеvеngе оf thе Drеаmеrѕ ІІ (wіth Drеаmvіllе) (2015).
• In 2017, He surprisingly released a track titled, “High for Hours” via his SoundCloud. Then, he announced the 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour on February 21st, 2017. The tour included 62 dates across North America, Europe, and Australia.
• In 2018, He announced a surprise free event for his fans at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. The event turned out to be a listening session for his forthcoming album, titled KOD, which was released on April 20th, 2018. Also, he released a single titled, “Album of the Year (Freestyle)” on 07th August 2018.
• The same year, KOD was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 album-equivalent units in the US.
• The album has since been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with one million album-equivalent units in the United States.
• In 2019, He released his first lead single since 2013 titled, “Middle Child”. Within one day, “Middle Child” debuted at number 26 on the US Billboard Hot 100. 
• The same year, he also performed at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game for its halftime show in Charlotte where he performed “Middle Child”, “A Lot”, “ATM”, “Love Yourz” and “No Role Modelz”.
• On July 2nd, 2019, Dreamville Presents: REVENGE was released on the label’s official YouTube account, a film documenting the album’s recording sessions in Atlanta.
• The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Also, The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, while “Middle Child” and “Down Bad” were nominated for Best Rap Performance. 
• His collaboration with 21 Savage “A Lot” received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song, making this his first Grammy Award win.
• Beside these, hе іѕ аlѕо аn асtоr аnd hаѕ bееn fеаturеd іn ѕеvеrаl fіlmѕ аnd tеlеvіѕіоn ѕhоwѕ ѕuсh аѕ Еуеz 2016, Ј. Соlе: 4 Yоur Еуеz Оnlу 2016 аnd Rаіѕіng Веrtіе іn 2017.

J. Cole Concerts Tours Highlights

Throughout his career, J. Cole gone several concert tours which are listed below:

• Cole World… World Tour (2011)
• What Dreams May Come Tour (2013–14)
• Dollar & A Dream Tour (2013)
• Dollar & A Dream Tour 2014: The Warm Up (2014)
• Forest Hills Drive Tour (2015)
• Dollar & A Dream Tour III: Friday Night Lights (2015)
• 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour (2017)
• KOD Tour (2018)
• The Campus Consciousness Tour (with Big K.R.I.T.) (2012)
• Revenge of the Dreamers NYC Crawl (with Dreamville) (2015)
• Jay-Z Fall Tour (Jay Z) (2009)
• Attention Deficit Tour (Wale) (2009)
• Loud Tour (Rihanna) (2011)
• Club Paradise Tour (Drake) (2012)
• Rapture Tour (Eminem) (2014)

What are the achievements of J. Cole?

Talking about his achievement, J. Cole has won several awards which are listed below:

• BET Hip Hop Awards – Best Mixtape (2011)
• Soul Train Music Awards – Best New Artist (2012)
• BET Hip Hop Awards  – Impact Track (2013)
• Soul Train Music Awards – Best Hip-Hop Song of the Year (2013)
• Soul Train Music Awards – Best Collaboration (2013)
• Billboard Music Awards – Top Rap Album (2014)
• BET Hip Hop Awards  – Best Live Performer (2015)
• BET Hip Hop Awards  – Album of the Year (2015)
• BET Hip Hop Awards – Impact Track (2016)
• BET Hip Hop Awards  – Lyricist of the Year (2018/19)
• BET Hip Hop Awards – Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse (2019)
• BET Hip Hop Awards – Impact Track (2019)
• Grammy Awards – Best Rap Song (2020)

Source: @pinterest

What are the controversies of J. Cole?

As per the media reports, Diddy tried to confront rapper Kendrick Lamar over the “King of New York” claim in his “Control” verse at a 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Diddy attempted to pour a drink on Lamar but Cole stop it. Then, The two started arguing and they got into an altercation, which led to problems between their respective crews. After a brief scuffle, both crews separated. After a few months the incident, They both were seen in a video promoting Revolt, joking about the incident.

Later in 2018, Lil Pump provoke through a song titled “Fuck J. Cole” which is produced by fellow rapper Smokepurpp. Media outlets and rappers conjectured that the song “1985” from KOD was a response to the two. Later during a concert in Atlanta, Smokepurrp, along with his fans erupted in a chant of “Fuck J. Cole.”

The same year, 2018, He was performing at JMBLYA festival in Dallas. He performed “1985”, cutting off the backing track so he could rap his verse a cappella. The crowd erupted in chants of “Fuck Lil Pump” and “Fuck 6ix9ine.” But he immediately shut down the chants telling the crowd, “Don’t do that.” Later, Lil Pump was seen dancing to the song near the stage while he was performed “1985” during his Rolling Loud Festival performance. After the concert, they sat down for an hour-long interview indicating that a supposed beef between the two is over.

Who is J. Cole married to?

J. Cole got married to Melissa Hehollt in 2015. The couple met during college and they started dating. They have had a very tumultuous relationship with rumors flying around that he had cheated on his girlfriend several times. However, the couple finally exchanged their vows in 2015 and later blessed with a son on the same date as his wife was born. Presently, the couple seems to be happy and enjoying their married life blissfully.

Also, He has founded the Dreamville Records and Dreamville foundation. While the former works towards promoting new talent in the music industry, the latter works towards improving the living standards of youths residing in the ghettos.

Source: @pinterest

How much money does J. Cole make a year?

J. Cole has earned the sum of a good amount of money and salary from his profession as a hip hop recording artist, songwriter, and record producer in the field of the music industry since 2007. As per the online sites, he has reported $60 million as of 2020. He also adds up his endorsements and commercials like Adidas, Nike, Hillary Clinton (2016), Sprite, etc.

Talking about his assets, He purchased his childhood home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for $120,000 through the Dreamville Foundation in 2014. Also, he earned through his business ventures like Dreamville Records, The Dreamville Foundation, Tidal, etc.

In 2020, he also partnership with Puma as an ambassador for the brand, As per the Puma, His involved in product is creation, marketing campaigns and cultural guidance.

How tall is J. Cole?

J. Cole has a height of 6 feet 2 inches and he weighs around 84 Kg. He has dark brown eyes and black hair color. Further, his body measures 43-14-33 inches including his chest, biceps, and waist sizes respectively. Her shoe size is 10 (US).