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J. Cole

J. Cole Books

Recording Artist

J. Cole, whose real name is Jermaine Cole, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Born on January 28, 1985, in Hartford, North Carolina, J. Cole has made a name for himself in the rap industry with his profound lyrics and unique musical style. His music often delves into social issues, personal growth, and inner struggles.

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Related Quotes

“If I lost your respect...I'm just hope you don't look at me as something you regret.”

Ifs Looks Lost Regret Look At Me

Author:J. Cole

“Hard to move on when you always regret one.”

Hard Moving Regret

Author:J. Cole

“You are perfect exactly as you are. With all your flaws and problems, there's no need to change anything. All you need to change is the thought that you aren't good enough.”

Needs Enough Problem Perfect Flaws Good Enough Need A Change You Need To Change

Author:J. Cole

“Sold my soul to Satan. I've been dancing with the devil. So when you get to hell you can say you know me. I'm easily attracted by the dark side. Devil keep following.”

Knows Soul Sides Dark Hell Devil Dancing Following My Soul Satan Know Me Dark Side Dancing With The Devil

Author:J. Cole

“It's no coincidence that all the greatest rappers - whoever you put in your top five - I guarantee you they a great storyteller.”

Five Guarantees Rapper Coincidence Storyteller

Author:J. Cole

“Don't let bridges you cross be bridges you burn.”

Crosses Bridges

Author:J. Cole

“Sold my soul to Satan. I've been dancing with the devil. So when you get to hell you can say you know me. I'm easily attracted by the dark side. Devil keep following. For that fortune, some sold their soul to Satan. Was on track for the first two years, then i let the Devil steer. Now i got to mask my tears, but allow me to re-introduce myself, my name is Cole: Born sinner, opposite of a winner. But the Devil run the T.V. so the demons in him, I'm in trouble did a deal with the Devil but now I'm pleading with him like give me my soul. I ain't ever letting go but the devil don't play fair.”

“I begged my mom for a beat machine, she spent a crazy amount of money - so there were no more Christmases, no more basketball camps, no more birthday gifts. I always knew that's what I wanted to do.”

Wanted Crazy Mom Amount Basketball Beats Machines My Mom Camps

Author:J. Cole

“In my mind, New York was the place where they had the underground rap shows and I could get in on some ciphers and just rap. This whole fantasy world I had created in my head about New York just from listening to the music my whole life, like, I'ma go up there and do that. But when I came up here, there was none of that, that scene was dead.”

World Mind Whole Shows Fantasy New York Listening Scene Rap Whole Life Fantasy Worlds Ciphers

Author:J. Cole

“How big can you be if just the underground niggas know you? You can't buy your mom a house when you just an underground celebrity.”

Ifs Knows Bigs House Mom Your Mom

Author:J. Cole

“The music becomes more pure and soulful when it's true, and it has to be true these days with the way the internet works, and the way the game works, everyone wants authentic raps.”

Way Want Games Internet Pure Music Is Rap Being True These Days Soulful

Author:J. Cole

“If I'm a character, it's a biographical movie. My character is as close to me as possible. As close to being myself as possible. So my character, J. Cole, is very close to Jermaine Cole.”

Ifs Character Being Myself

Author:J. Cole

“I'm not a conscious rapper, all those things we talk about, the struggle, the pain, the outlook to the future, keep your head up. I try to put all those positive things into a regular human character, which is myself.”

Trying Humans Character Pain Struggle Conscious Rapper Outlook Positive Things Heads Up

Author:J. Cole

“I don't like to think of it as being fired. Instead, I prefer to think of it as being on indefinite leave with a sabbatical flair.”

Thinking Flair Sabbatical

Author:J. Cole

“I'm the type of person where, A., I look at things as challenges, I like challenges and, B., I truly believe that you determine your own destiny.”

Believe Looks Persons Challenges Destiny Type Determine

Author:J. Cole

“I truly believe that I make my path and I set my course, and where I land, at the end of the day, or the end of my career, [is] because of me. Of course, you get help along the way, and cosigns and management and opportunities and things like that but overall, the ball is in your court basically.”

Way Believe Ends Helping Courses Opportunity Careers Path Land Balls Management Court The End Of The Day

Author:J. Cole

“When you're a rapper, just a rapper, you have to kind of settle for whatever comes your way - if a beat is hot, you wanna rap on it, period.”

Ifs Way Kind Periods Beats Hot Rap Settling Rapper

Author:J. Cole

“When you're a producer on top of that, just havin' a beat that's hot is not enough. Now you know your sound, 'cause you've been workin' on your sound for so long, and now you're extra picky. You might do a beat that's ill, that the average rapper would pay big money to get on, but you don't wanna do it because you're like, "Ehhh... it's not what I'm looking for, it's not what I'm goin' for." So you're extra picky.”

Knows Long Enough Bigs Might Causes Sound Pay Beats Hot Average Ill Producers Extras Rapper Picky

Author:J. Cole

“I don't wanna forget the fact that I wanna be one of the best rappers. I feel like some of the best rappers ever - 2Pac, namely, one of them - could take sub-par beats or average beats and turn them into incredible songs.”

Feels Facts Song Turns Forget Beats Incredibles Average Rapper Best Rapper

Author:J. Cole

“School is a good place - it ain't for everybody, but I think it's for most people.”

People Thinking School Good Place

Author:J. Cole

“There's still value in a CD, even if it's just nostalgic. People are still willing to pay. But it can't compare to a digital-only release where you can control the exact time that it'll come out, you know what I mean? So whoever finds how to bridge that gap is gonna make a lot of money.”

People Ifs Knows Mean Stills Values Pay Willing Release Bridges Compare Digital Gaps Lots Of Money Cds Nostalgic

Author:J. Cole

“When composing music, I just start spilling things out and then wait until they take form, you know what I mean, until I see like a common thread or something.”

Knows Mean Form Waiting Common Thread Composing Spilling Composing Music Common Threads

Author:J. Cole

“There's always people out there that's like, doubting me, you know what I mean? Even though I do embrace the people that embrace me and I'm grateful for them. But I always feel like, man, there's still people out there that's not giving it up. And I feel like I'm doing everything the right way, you know what I mean? I'm really going out of my way to do it the right way. I'm taking very few cheats - very few cheat codes that I'm using.”

People Knows Men Way Giving Feels Mean Stills Doubt Grateful Embrace My Way Code Going Out Cheat Right Way

Author:J. Cole

“When I first started rapping, when I switched my style to more like a punch line style - this is when I'm like 13 years old - and I switched it to this real wordy - I was trying to rap like Canibus and like Eminem. It was real lyrical, real wordy and punch lines and, when I would come up with these punch lines and spit 'em in these cyphers, the minute the cyphers would be like, "Ohhh" and everybody would break away, it was a new feeling for me. It was like, "Oh, yo, you see what I just did?" I was addicted to that feeling, and I still love that feeling.”

Trying Years Firsts Stills Real Feelings Would Be Lines Break Minutes Style Come Up Rap Ems Spit Lyrical New Feelings

Author:J. Cole

“A lot of my music is just self-observation. Like telling you, "Oh man. What did I just do? How much did I just pay for this chain? Why did I do that? Wait a minute." Let me talk about that. Or like, the temptation. Let me talk about that. Let me observe myself.”

Men Self Waiting Pay Minutes Music Is Let Me Temptation Observation Chains Self Observation

Author:J. Cole

“I wanna show you I can out-rap your favorite rappers. I wanna show you I can out-produce your favorite producers. So I'm constantly getting better and I understand that there's always room for growth, especially in quality, sonic quality.”

I Can Shows Growth Rooms Quality Produce Rap Producers Get Better Rapper Your Favorite

Author:J. Cole

“It's the way I enjoy making art - I like sitting down and making five beats; I enjoy that process. I can go two weeks without making a song and just making beats and I'll be OK.”

Way Art I Can Two Song Process Enjoy Five Week Beats Sitting Down And Two Weeks Sitting Down

Author:J. Cole

“I wish I studied more religions, I wish I read the Bible, the Quran. I think as I get older, I will start to really dive into religions, just because I feel like there's truths in all of those books. Clearly. I'm saying there's truths in all of them.”

Thinking Feels Book Wish Quran

Author:J. Cole

“I feel like relationships are a beautiful thing, period. Relationships can be really beautiful, they can be really hard, they can be really rewarding, or they can be bad relationships where it's really detrimental and hurtful, but that's life, period.”

Feels Hard Beautiful Periods Beautiful Things Hurtful Really Beautiful Detrimental Bad Relationship

Author:J. Cole

“Marriage is just a relationship to me. In my experience, when you've been in a relationship for as long as I've been in one, there's no real difference. It's just a piece of paper that validates what was already real.”

Long Real Differences Pieces Paper

Author:J. Cole

“In marriage you got to go through the same struggles as a relationship, that's if the relationship is real, because there's a lot of non-real relationships going on in the world right now. And I think that's just because of the day and age we're in, a lot of these relationships are taking place over text messages, it's not real substance. But when you got a real one, it's already like a marriage.”

Ifs Thinking World Real Age Struggle Right Now Messages Substance Real Ones Text Message Real Relationship

Author:J. Cole

“My Mother's an actress, and she's always told me, "Boy, you're an actor." I would look forward to seeing if I'm any good. I want to be good at it, that's the only thing.”

Ifs Want Looks Mother Actors Boys Seeing Actresses Be Good

Author:J. Cole

“I think all you can really do is use the tour to kinda fill up with experiences and thoughts, and then, when you get back to the studio, or in some type of creative environment, that's when you release everything that you've encountered on tour.”

Thinking Use Creative Environment Type Studios Release Get Back

Author:J. Cole

“You can't take yourself too seriously. Like, yeah, I'm doin' all that, but still I don't feel like I've done anything, really. I feel blessed 'cause I'm doin' all these things, but I'm not satisfied. I still have that feeling like, "Who am I? Who am I to have an ego? Who am I to change up and act like some Hollywood character?" Technically, in the grand scheme of things, I haven't done anything.”

Feels Stills Done Character Feelings Causes Havens Ego Hollywood Yeah Blessed Satisfied Schemes

Author:J. Cole

“College had a great deal to do with my development as a person. I don't know if I'd be the artist I was if it wasn't for goin' to school like that. School is a good place - it ain't for everybody, but I think it's for most people.”

People Ifs Thinking Knows Persons School Artist Deals College Development Good Place

Author:J. Cole

“I was inspired by, when I was in college, seeing some incredible speakers come to my school: Michael Eric Dyson, Spike Lee, Nikki Giovanni, and other poets and writers. I always loved that experience: going and sitting in an auditorium and listening to their opinions.”

School Opinion College Poet Listening Inspired Incredibles Speakers

Author:J. Cole

“I didn't even have to be a big fan of someone to enjoy hearing them speak. I remember when Nikki Giovanni came - I wasn't really familiar with her. But she said some things I'll never forget. Like, okay, for example, she was talking about the amount of beef that's in the world. There are so many McDonald's, Burger Kings, Wendy's.”

World Remember Speak Enjoy Forget Okay Familiar Never Forget Remember When

Author:J. Cole

“You go to any town, any city, any state in America and there's always a McDonald's. In a lot of places around the world, it's almost the same thing. And Nikki Giovanni was like, "Damn, where are we keeping all these cows?" And it made me think to myself, like, "Damn, where are we keeping all these cows?!" It makes me think that the beef we're eating isn't even close to being real. There can't even be enough cows in the whole world just to sustain the appetites of just Americans! I'll always remember that.”

Thinking World Real Enough Remember Eating Being Real

Author:J. Cole

“I never really told anybody that I'm a rapper. I wasn't walking around being like, "Yo, check out my mixtape!" It was more of a secret grind.”

Secret Walking Rapper Grind

Author:J. Cole

“They say time is money but really it's not If we ever go broke, then time is all we got And we can't make that back, no you can't make that back”

Ifs Rap Broke Time Is Money

Author:J. Cole

“You hate it before you played it. I already forgave ya.”

Author:J. Cole

“I'ma be here for a while. None of these clowns can hurt me.”

Hate Hurt I Hate Hate You Clown I Hate You Hurt Me

Author:J. Cole

“I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something's not good enough, and I won't stop until I feel like I've made it. I'm never satisfied.”

Thinking Feels Made Enough Pressure Satisfied Made It Good Enough Not Good Enough

Author:J. Cole

“I feel like this: Whatever is in your path and in your heart, you need to do.”

Needs Feels Heart Path

Author:J. Cole

“I always feel like it's two key ingredients when it comes to following your dreams, making something happen that the average person deems difficult. If you truly believe it, that's step one. Step two, is, you know, the hard work that goes along with it.”

Ifs Knows Feels Believe Persons Two Hard Dream Happens Difficult Steps Hard Work Keys Average Following Your Dreams Ingredients Follow Your Dreams Average Person

Author:J. Cole

“Anything I do, I want to do it well.”

Author:J. Cole

“College isn't in everyone's hearts. I am living proof, though, that school doesn't mess up your plans. It gives you more experiences to write about.”

Giving Writing Heart School Plans College Proof Mess Living Proof

Author:J. Cole

“I do put a lot of God in my music, but not because I'm super religious. There are a lot of demons in my music, too. I acknowledge both.”

Religious Acknowledge Demon

Author:J. Cole

“I think if I did something in the pop world right now, it would be for Rihanna. I'd love to do something production wise for her.”

Ifs Thinking World Would Be Wise Right Now Productions Pops

Author:J. Cole

“I was a class clown. At 12, I was definitely clowning. I was making all the jokes. But I was smart, so the teachers didn't know what to do with me.”

Knows Class Teacher Smart Jokes Clown Clowning

Author:J. Cole

About the Author

Born: January 28, 1985
Known for: Recording Artist
Quotes: 124

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