J. Cole explains how Kanye West influenced his music.
After announcing it recently, J. Cole has released the first episode of his audio series Inevitable. In the first instalment where he talks about his debut mixtape “The Come Up”, the rapper explains how Kanye West changed his life and influences his music early in his career.
“I was an aggressive battle rapper that had bars and I was a storyteller of fantasy, like ‘The Storm’ — completely made-up scenarios. I had that, but my life was actually hella regular,” he said. “I didn’t sell no dr-gs, it was nothing like my favorite rappers. It was nothing like JAY-Z‘s life, it was nothing like what ‘Pac‘s life appeared to be. There was nothing gangster about it. I didn’t know how to talk about my life in a way that people could connect with. And then f–king Kanye West happened.”
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“In the summer of 2003 before I went to college, the ‘Through the Wire’ video dropped… and that sh-t changed my life,” he added. “I became a massive Kanye fan. Kanye was the first time that I saw myself in somebody. He just made it possible to talk about your life or your regular-ass perspective in a way that’s appealing.” “This ni–a became my favorite artist at that point. He kinda cracked my mind open.”
J. Cole on how Kanye’s music changed his life & helped influence his rapping 👀
“My life was hella regular… It was nothing like my favorite rappers, I didn’t know how to talk about MY life. And then, f***ing Kanye West happened.”
“The ‘Through The Wire’ video dropped and that… pic.twitter.com/ptFyZzUKyy
— NFR Podcast (@nfr_podcast) November 19, 2024
While he was hugely influenced by the Donda rapper, Cole seemingly fires shots at Ye on his 2016 song “False Prophets”. “Justifying that half a-s sh-t he dropped, we always buy it / When he tell us he a genius but it’s clearer lately / It’s been hard for him to look into the mirror lately / There was a time when this ni–a was my hero, maybe / That’s the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take.”
J. Cole Releases Debut Mixtape “The Come Up” On Streaming Services
