J. Cole gives props to Eminem, Canibus and more.
In 2019, Nardwuar had an interaction with J. Cole at the Day N Vegas festival in LA, and during the short chat, the Dreamville boss promised the Vancouver veteran that he will give him an interview in 2020 or 2021. The two finally had a sit down for an interview, where Nardwuar brings some gifts for Cole, which includes Breaks & Beats Spaceman doll, some vinyl records, a Dilla Turntable and more.
This time, Nardwuar caught Cole at Windmark Recording Studio in Santa Monica, California. For those who are unfamiliar with Nardwuar’s interview approach, the interviewer has CIA-level talents at delving deep into a subject’s past and unearthing instances that the subject either forgot about or is shocked Nardwuar was able to uncover. Nard first astounded Cole by mentioning that the studio they are in is where Cole recorded a track on 2014 Forest Hills Drive, which was released seven years ago on the date of the interview. “That’s crazy, I just realised that,” Cole said. “This is on some level of synchronisation, God. That’s crazy.”
The album sold 353,000 copies in its first week and debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200. One million copies of the album have been sold in the US as of September 2015. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the album triple platinum certification in May 2019.
The album took home awards for Top Rap Album at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards as well as Album of the Year at the 2015 BET Hip Hop Awards. At the 2016 Grammy Awards, it received a nomination for Best Rap Album. At the 2016 Grammy Awards, the song “Apparently” was up for Best Rap Performance.
During one part at the 11:00 minute mark, Narduwar asked Cole about the era of his teenage years and asked about the Jamaican rapper Canibus. “Yeah, Canibus, huge inspiration on my teenage years of rapping. Just ferocious, barred up, lyrical, punch lines, any cypher, any gathering of three or more people that wanted to rap, destroying it. That was my whole mo, that was my forte and Canibus was big part of that. Eminem was a big part of that. Royce 5’9″ was a big part of that, Big L was a big part of that.”
It’s interesting to note that J. Cole demonstrates how hip hop’s feuds and alliances do not obscure genuine skill and competence. Cole and many other rappers learned from and respected Canibus and Eminem, who were on opposite ends of one of the biggest and most dramatic beefs.
Also Check out: J. Cole Reveals He Urged Dr. Dre to Sign the Up-and-Coming Kendrick Lamar.
Watch the full interview below.
