For rapper Jermaine Cole, better known as J. Cole, hip-hop is the future.
The first to be signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label, Cole is recognized by many as the next big thing in hip-hop music. Now on tour with Jay-Z, Cole both opens the show and rejoins the headliner later to perform the appropriately titled track, “A Star is Born.” While attention like this causes anxiety for most, Cole works it to his advantage.
“I don’t think about this stuff; I don’t think about where I’m at,” Cole said. “I don’t feel any negative pressure; I don’t sit back and let it get to me. If I do feel any pressure, it’s a motivating pressure ““ the kind that makes me want to do better, to make my next song better than my last.”
It’s this drive that has won Cole the admiration of people like Jay-Z, as well as those who work closest with him.
“He’s a student of the game,” said Wayne Barrow, Cole’s manager. “He’s like a sponge; he wants to learn everything. One of the things that’s unique (about him) is that he’s a true fan of hip-hop. It takes you back to the early ’90s, with his wordplay and his charisma on the mic, but he’s a kid from today, so what he’s delivering is based on what’s going on today.”
These words are ones you’d expect from any manager promoting their talent, but Barrow should know a thing or two ““ he’s worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop, including the biggest of them all, Christopher Wallace.
“I don’t see any of (Wallace) in J. Cole, but I do see similarities in their work ethic,” Barrow said. “We have this young cat who could be able to change the game once again.”
Competition is something on which Cole thrives, graduating magna cum laude from St. John’s University.
“I’m a natural competitor,” Cole said. “Even if it’s just with myself. School is the same way. I was good in school because I couldn’t see myself failing at anything. If I’m going to do something, I had to be the best. It translates to music in the same way. I’m competing against everyone ““ outdo my last song, outdo the competition ““ even if they don’t know it’s a competition.”
The opportunity to watch an artist who seems predestined for greatness is not one which comes often.
“Let’s say I go out (on stage) and get no love, where I feel like the crowd wasn’t really rocking with me, I put things into perspective ““ this is like earning stripes,” Cole said. “I have this confidence inside that I know where I’m going to be, so that doesn’t matter.”
This opportunity affords all those who observe his growth a very unique perspective ““ imagine being able to talk to Jay-Z about his future a decade ago. Cole related this to a story he heard from a member of fellow rapper Wale’s camp.
“(The friend) said in ’97, he was the only kid talking about Jay-Z; everyone else was (listening to) Mase and Biggie. He said this tour was coming to town, and Jay-Z was opening for Redman and Method Man, and no one knew who Jay-Z was, and he was getting no love. But he did his thing,” Cole said. “I know for a fact, in his mind, he had to be thinking, “˜I don’t give a fuck, give me a few years and let’s see what happens.'”
Cole’s list of influences includes Tupac, Eminem and Andre 3000. These influences are all channeled into the mind of a young artist who combines the best of each artist into a sort of hip-hop Frankenstein creation.
“I’m evolved,” Cole said. “I take the best from some of the greats. I feel like I have some of the best qualities from a lot of different artists. I care about my craft, the words I use, the wittiness. I put more care into my work than some other people. I’m a rapper’s rapper.”
Barrow also recognizes his devotion to his work.
“It’s not that he’s bringing something back,” Barrow said regarding his comment on Cole reviving some of the characteristics of ’90s rap. “It’s that it wasn’t just about financial gain; it was about the individual with the mic. It goes back to the art form itself. He speaks to so many different people. It’s about the art, not the commerce.”
It’s Cole’s devotion to the art that sets him apart. With an album due to release in 2010, Cole wants to make it a classic ““ not for financial reasons, but for the sake of the art.
“I don’t know where I’m at in people’s minds; I just know where I want to be,” Cole said. “I want to put out a classic album, hands down, critically acclaimed. I want to have hits. I want the “˜Through the Wire’ and the “˜All Falls Down.'”
It’s no coincidence that the two tracks he used to illustrate what he considers to be classics within the art form were by Kanye West ““ Cole sees him as one of the most talented hip-hop artists in recent years.
“(West) was one of the last artists to break the mold and not settle for a club song,” Cole said. “”˜Touch the Sky’ was huge, and it wasn’t a party song. Kanye did it his own way and still found success.”
With his respect and appreciation for the game, Cole’s view toward the future seems both confident and determined, with touring under Jay-Z as a jump-off point.